Question NW2273 to the Minister of Social Development
16 November 2020 - NW2273
Ngwenya, Ms DB to ask the Minister of Social Development
Whether her department is ready to meet the November deadlines set by the North Gauteng High Court for her department to resolve the foster care backlog which has been a challenge for the past eight years; if not, why will she fail to meet the deadline; if so, what measures has she put in place to ensure that the court directives are adhered to?
Reply:
The department met the November deadlines set by the North Gauteng High Court in relation to the comprehensive legal solution in terms of introducing the Children’s Amendment Bill to Parliament (clause 2.21 of the North Gauteng High Court Order). The Minister submitted the Children’s Amendment Bill in August 2020. The Social Assistance Bill was passed by National Assembly on 09 June 2020 and was referred to the NCOP.
Since the Children’s Amendment Bill is not yet passed due to Parliamentary programme; it is not yet able to effectively address foster care challenges, as a result the Minister will approach the North Gauteng High Court requesting an extension of the Court Order to enable parliament processes to unfold in its consideration of the Children’s Amendment Bill. The North Gauteng High Court Order deems the affected foster care orders to be valid, thus there is no backlog. The provinces are implementing their respective recovery plans to obtain foster care orders with extension dates that are beyond the lapse date of the North Gauteng High Court Order.
National AssemblyWritten Reply: 2273 of 2020
________________________
Approved by the Minister of Social Development
Date……………………….