Councillor Amanda De Ryk

During November 2025, Amanda De Ryk was active in several council meetings. At the Croydon & Lewisham Street Lighting Joint Committee, she nominated Councillor Louise Krupski for Chair and seconded the nomination for Councillor Scott Roche as Vice Chair. In the Public Accounts Select Committee, De Ryk voiced concerns about Section 17 funding, recalling past difficulties in controlling the budget for Section 17 and children in need due to families with no recourse to public funds, and urged for close examination of any potential increase in such demands. As Cabinet Member for Finance, Resources and Performance at the Brent, Lewisham and Southwark IT Committee, she questioned delays in the laptop refresh project's purchase order and rollout timeline, highlighting potential knock-on effects like extended licenses. De Ryk also expressed anxiety about the Adobe contract renewal and PSN compliance, noting that things were being left too close to deadline lines. She further inquired about the implications of supplier issues on category one incidents and the council's confidence in supplier reliability, and sought information on Southwark's exit plans from the shared service.

During the October 22, 2025, Mayor and Cabinet meeting, Councillor Amanda De Ryk was active in several key areas. She presented the Quarter 1, 2025-2026 Performance Report, noting a concerning drop in Council Tax collection rates and its financial implications. De Ryk also introduced the Treasury Management Outturn and Mid-Term Review, emphasizing the council's prudent financial management principles:

The report provides a comprehensive overview of treasury performance outlining in detail what we mean when we say that we are prudent in the way that we manage the Council's and residence money. Our core principles of security, liquidity and return are evidenced in detail in the report. And I'm very happy to introduce it.

She sought permission to procure new hard facilities management services, outlining four three-year contracts totaling up to £14 million, and warned of a potential annual budget shortfall of nearly £1.8 million due to increased costs. De Ryk also provided an update on financial monitoring, reporting on the General Fund, Dedicated Schools Grant, and Housing Revenue Account, and sought approval for debt write-offs. She highlighted the significant cost increase for the security contract with Smartsec Solutions and expressed enthusiasm for the Lewisham Library project and the Warm Welcomes Programme.

During September 2025, Councillor Amanda De Ryk was actively involved in several key council meetings. On September 10th, as Cabinet Member for Finance, Resources and Performance, she introduced and discussed significant reports, including corporate banking services, emphasizing careful contract management and legal considerations. She also presented the Council's Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) and period 2 financial monitoring, detailing financial sustainability, potential budget gaps, and mitigation strategies, including securing substantial savings. De Ryk also presented the capital programme for 2025/26. She consistently acknowledged the hard work of finance and regional teams. On September 24th, she spoke extensively about the expansion of the warm hubs program, highlighting its role in addressing the cost of living crisis and its year-round funding to support voluntary sector partners. She also clarified council rules regarding public questions and by-election costs. De Ryk was also noted as present at a Standards Committee meeting on the same day. On September 25th, during the Pensions Investment Committee meeting, she commented on technical difficulties with sound quality, stating, > Yeah, Amanda's saying it's bad too.

During July 2025, Amanda De Ryk was active in multiple council meetings. On July 9th, she was present at the Mayor and Cabinet meeting. On July 16th, she played a significant role in the Council meeting, moving recommendations for the Divest for Palestine petition and the Review of the Constitution. Regarding the constitution review, she stated,

the review was exhaustive, all councillors were equal, and Cllr Tam's points had been heard and represented.

In addition to her speaking contributions, De Ryk was appointed as a Cabinet Member for Finance, Resources & Procurement. She also took on several deputy roles, including for the Joint Street Lighting Committee, the Grants Committee (London Councils), and the Greater London Employment Forum (London Councils). Furthermore, she was appointed to the Blackheath Joint Working Party and the Standards Committee.

During June 2025, Amanda De Ryk, Cabinet Member for Finance, Resources and Performance, was active in the Public Accounts Select Committee meeting on June 25th. She provided detailed responses on several key areas:

• Financial Monitoring: De Ryk discussed the financial outturn for 2024-25, addressing the impact of changes to personal independence payments on care packages and government benefits, and outlining the housing transformation programme.
• 'No Wrong Front Door' Improvement Programme: She contributed to discussions on this programme, highlighting the contact directory, communication system challenges, the need for new officer resources, the importance of an all-members briefing on engagement, monitoring the new approach with KPIs, and the integrity of data systems.
• Digital Strategy Update: De Ryk addressed the Council's IT infrastructure, including legacy applications, data inconsistencies, duplicate systems, and cybersecurity. She also spoke about the need for IT equipment upgrades for Windows 11, the long-term digital strategy, leveraging data for customer journeys, standardization, the roles of management and IT boards, innovative data applications like a 'digital 3D twin', the use of national land and property gazetteer references, and the potential for digital hubs and collaborations with charities.

During May 2025, Amanda De Ryk was active in two council meetings. In the May 7th meeting, she responded to numerous questions during the Public Questions and Member Questions sections. She clarified the Council's stance on honoring global figures, stating,

The Council is very proud that Archbishop Desmond Tutu lived in the Borough. Whilst the Council does not honour global figures, it honoured Desmond Tutu with the Freedom of the Borough because of his connection to Lewisham Borough.

Regarding investments, she emphasized the Pensions Investment Committee's fiduciary duty and commitment to ethical practices, noting,

The Pensions Investment Committee has fiduciary duty, not a political one.

She also confirmed ongoing work on divestment from companies in occupied territories and assured that information on fund manager engagement is publicly available. De Ryk also moved the motions for the Council Budget 2025/26 and the Pay Policy Statement for 2025/26. In the May 21st meeting, she presented the Quarter 3 2004.5 Performance Update, highlighting performance indicators within her portfolio, including challenges and improvements in Freedom of Information requests and Subject Action Reviews, and strong performance in Council Tax and business rates collection.

During April 2025, Councillor Amanda De Ryk was active in two council meetings. In the Standards Committee meeting on April 9th, she confirmed her appointment to Standards Sub-Committee A and stressed the need to align the Lewisham Council Code of Conduct with the LGA model, welcoming a review workshop to address any discrepancies. She also seconded the recommendation to agree the Work Programme. Later, on April 30th, at the Mayor and Cabinet meeting, Councillor De Ryk presented two key reports: the Sustainable Procurement Strategy 2025-2029 and the Out of Hours Switchboard Contract Extension.

In March 2025, Councillor Amanda De Ryk provided a foreword for Lewisham’s Sustainable Procurement Strategy 2025 - 2029. She stressed the importance of spending in a different way to achieve prosperity and highlighted the potential of amending Social Value Acts for greater transparency in public spending, stating,

When we measure, track and monitor where money is spent then we have a chance at understanding the wider impact of every public pound. If we are clever, we can make every purchase do double-duty.

De Ryk pointed out that UK SMEs miss out on approximately £30 billion annually in public contracts. She showcased Lewisham's success in local procurement, noting the council's top UK ranking in 2023 for local government procurement, with 83% of its £300m spend within Lewisham and the wider London region. She detailed strategies like 'Meet the Buyer' events and prioritizing local suppliers, reporting that in 2023, Lewisham spent £74m on local contracts, creating 824 jobs and £18m in wages, with 99% of jobs at or above the London Living Wage.

She concluded by outlining the strategy's ambition:

This strategy sets out our ambition and intention to continue to ensure that our procurement of goods, works and services for the Council will not only be compliant and deliver value for money, but importantly work to improve the lives of our residents and increase opportunities for our businesses. It will ensure that it does so in a way that is ethically and environmentally responsible. Quietly and patiently, we are using procurement to make a difference.

During February 2025, Amanda De Ryk was actively involved in council meetings, addressing public questions and moving key recommendations. She provided updates on the council's records management program, aiming to improve FOI response times, and discussed the Local Government Pension Scheme's investments, stating,

I am unable to name any companies directly - we have passive investments, and it is very difficult to single out individual companies. We are doing our best to invest responsibly, ethically and to keep up to date with the international situation as it evolves.

She also indicated that a mid-contract review of Oracle licenses for non-performance-related issues was unlikely, explaining,

the bottom line is that it is a central system for the whole working of the council and its transactions.

De Ryk expressed support for the London CIV ethical investment fund, noting,

we would all welcome more options for the London Collective Investment Vehicle. The PIC is actively advocating for funds that reflect our views.

Her key actions included moving recommendations for the Council Tax Base, Statement of Accounts, Constitution Update, and Polling District Review. Additionally, as Cabinet Member for Finance, Resources and Performance, she signed off on the 2025/26 Budget Report on February 4th, 2025.

During January 2025, Councillor Amanda De Ryk, Cabinet Member for Finance, Resources and Performance, was active in council meetings. She addressed concerns about FOI responses by announcing the implementation of a records management program in February. Regarding pension fund investments, she highlighted their long-term nature and the Pensions Investment Committee's commitment to responsible and ethical investing. De Ryk indicated that a mid-contract review of Oracle licenses was not feasible unless performance-related, but she would discuss it with officers. She expressed support for more options within the London Collective Investment Vehicle and moved recommendations for Setting the Council Tax Base, the NNDR Tax Base & Discounts for Second Homes and Empty Homes , Statement of Accounts 2023/24 and Annual Report 2023/24 , Constitution Update , and Polling District Review . In response to concerns about Oracle's business dealings, De Ryk stated that the Council is concerned about the situation in Gaza and would investigate the concerns raised about Oracle, emphasizing the Council's procurement procedures and due diligence. She also clarified the process for communicating constitutional changes, noting that a verbal update was given at a Governance meeting with a written report to follow.