Parliamentary Questions filed by Mr Louis Ng on 22 November 2023
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Manpower for each year in the past five years, how many instances of feedback or requests specifically received via the FWMOMCare mobile application have been about (i) illegal employment; (ii) criminal kickbacks; (iii) false declarations of salary; (iv) employment agency’s failure to refund agency fees; and (v) illegal deployment respectively.
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Health whether the Government can (i) provide subsidies for fertility screening and (ii) introduce a new specific category of fertility screening for the use of MediSave.
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether the Ministry considers there to be sufficient manpower at the Child Protection Service (CPS); and (b) whether there are plans to increase the number of CPS officers.
Response:
The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Social and Family Development (Mr Eric Chua) (for the Minister for Social and Family Development): Sir, the number of Child Protection Officers (CPOs) managing cases has increased over the years, in line with the increase in cases managed by the Child Protective Service (CPS). CPS is in the process of hiring more CPOs to meet evolving needs
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Social and Family Development for each year in the past five years, what is the number of children and young persons who were removed by the Child Protective Service (CPS) and subsequently returned to the same family of origin more than once.
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Social and Family Development in each of the past five years, what is the mean and median number of unannounced inspections conducted on homes of families with children who have been returned to their families after being placed in a place of safety or foster home.
Response:
Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M: Children placed in out-of-home care are reunited with their families only after safety and risk concerns have been addressed. Following reunification, case officers work with community partners to do safety checks at least once a month, including through home visits, which could be announced or unannounced. The exact frequency and form of such checks would depend on the case circumstances and needs of the family.
Aside from home visits, other checks may be done by case officers and community agencies, such as schools, social service agencies and healthcare institutions, to ensure the safety and well-being of the children. For example, case officers may check with school personnel on the children’s attendance and progress in school.