Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698847333644.pdf (Singapore)
FOURTEENTH PARLIAMENT OF SINGAPORE ___________________ FIRST SESSION ___________________ ORDER PAPER MONDAY, 4 JULY 2022 No.

63 1.30 pm 1 QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER* *1.


Mr Darryl David: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth in light of the decision of the Government to take over the ownership and management of the Singapore Sports Hub, whether there are any concrete plans for key national community events like the National Day Parade to be held at the National Stadium as this would allow many more spectators to experience the Parade “live” than at its present site.

*2.
*2.

Mr Seah Kian Peng: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) what are the learning points from the public-private partnership model adopted for the Singapore Sports Hub; and (b) what is the total amount spent by the Government in financing this development since its inception.

*3.
*3.

Mr Sitoh Yih Pin: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) what are the outstanding responsibilities to be discharged by SportsHub Pte Ltd (SHPL) before SportSG will make payment upon termination of the public-private partnership (PPP); (b) what is the amount of the final payment and the basis of its calculation; and (c) what are the reasons for the Government’s decision for SportSG to take over earlier instead of the original PPP end-date in 2035.

*4.
*4.

Mr Sitoh Yih Pin: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) what are some examples of contractual limitations in the public-private partnership (PPP) with SportsHub Pte Ltd that prompted the Government’s decision to terminate the PPP; and (b) what are the types of events and activities that SportSG envisions to advocate for the benefit of the community once these limitations are removed upon its takeover of ownership and management of the Singapore Sports Hub on 9 December 2022.

No.
No.

63 4 JULY 2022 2 *5.

Mr Sitoh Yih Pin: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) what is SportSG’s vision and long-term plans to maximise the potential of the Singapore Sports Hub upon its take over on 9 December 2022; and (b) what is the model that SportSG intends to adopt for the operational aspects of the Singapore Sports Hub upon termination of the public-private partnership.

*6.
*6.

Miss Cheng Li Hui: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) whether the decision to terminate the public-private partnership with SportsHub Pte Ltd was due to their persistent failure to perform up to standard; and (b) what are Sport Singapore’s plans to improve the performance of the Singapore Sports Hub, particularly in driving sporting, social and community outcomes.

*7.
*7.

Mr Mohd Fahmi Bin Aliman: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) whether SportSG has the right expertise and capabilities to manage and operate the Singapore Sports Hub after taking over from SportsHub Pte Ltd; and (b) whether SportSG intends to continue working with the private sector in the management and operation of the Singapore Sports Hub.

*8.
*8.

Mr Xie Yao Quan: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth what are the financial and strategic reasons which led to the Government’s decision to terminate the public-private partnership on the Singapore Sports Hub.

*9.
*9.

Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) whether there was an opportunity in 2008 to review the decision to develop the Sports Hub by a public-private partnership and, if so, why was the decision made to proceed with the public-private partnership (PPP); (b) what are the respective roles of SportSG and Sports Hub Pte Ltd (SHPL) in the PPP; and (c) whether any shortcomings by different parties in the PPP have been identified.

*10.
Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) what are the factors which SportSG considered in deciding to terminate the public-private partnership agreement with Sports Hub Private Limited; (b) what is the expected cost to the Government to take over the management of the Sports Hub including the compensation payable; (c) how does the Government balance the costs payable versus the benefits to the sporting community; and (d) how does this consideration differ from the situation in 2008 when the tender was awarded.
*11.

Mr Shawn Huang Wei Zhong: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) what are the long-term plans for the Singapore Sports Hub under SportSG; (b) what are the steps taken by SportSG to ensure that it has the capabilities to operate and run a world-class venue; and (c) to what extent will the public have access to the Singapore Sports Hub.

No.

63 4 JULY 2022 3 *12.


Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth how will SportSG use the takeover of the Singapore Sports Hub as an opportunity to develop sports excellence at the junior level, notwithstanding the comparatively low commercial value of junior sports, to grow a broader pipeline of future high-performance athletes and sports champions.

*13.
Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) what have been the key performance indicators for the Singapore Sports Hub that are tracked by the Government in assessing the performance and viability of the public-private partnership (PPP) since its inception and to what extent have these been met; (b) what has triggered the termination of the PPP in 2022; (c) what is the agreed cost of the termination to be paid to Sports Hub Pte Ltd; and (d) what are the main causes of the PPP not working out.
*14.

Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) how will the plans for SportSG differ from the past to ensure better utilisation of the Singapore Sports Hub; and (b) what considerations must be in place to balance an effective usage of the facility for world-class sporting events versus community use.

*15.
Ms Poh Li San: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth in view of SportSG taking full ownership and management of the Singapore Sports Hub from December 2022 (a) how will the upcoming Kallang Alive facilities such as the Football Hub, Kallang Tennis Centre, Youth Hub and Velodrome be funded for development and running costs; and (b) how can these facilities in the Kallang sporting and entertainment hub hosting world- class sporting events, be made accessible and affordable to both Singaporean athletes and spectators.
*16.

Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) what are the objectives and performance criteria set for SportSG when it takes over ownership and management of the Singapore Sports Hub in December 2022; (b) whether SportSG has the expertise to manage the Singapore Sports Hub; and (c) what is the estimated additional taxpayer revenue needed annually for the Singapore Sports Hub after SportSG takes over.

*17.
*17.

Mr Raj Joshua Thomas: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth what is the financial cost to the Government arising from the termination of the public-private partnership agreement over the ownership and management of the Singapore Sports Hub.

No.

63 4 JULY 2022 4 *18.


Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth whether there have been or will be any review done to look into the issues surrounding the termination of the Singapore Sports Hub public-private partnership, including (i) the financial impact and implications that relate and led to the termination and (ii) other reasons why the partnership has to be terminated.

*19.
*19.

Mr Sharael Taha: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth in view of the termination of the project agreement with Sports Hub Pte Ltd and the Government taking full ownership and management of the Sports Hub (a) what are the reasons for the failure of this public-private partnership (PPP); (b) what lessons have been learnt; and (c) what guidelines will be put in place to ensure the goals of the stakeholders in future PPP contracts are aligned.

*20.
*20.

Mr Sharael Taha: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth in view of the Government taking full ownership and management of the Sports Hub (a) what is the expected annual cost of running the Sports Hub; and (b) what are the criteria for success for the Sports Hub when SportSG takes over.

*21.
*21.

Miss Cheng Li Hui: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) what is the Ministry’s assessment of the likelihood of a recession in Singapore within the next year; and (b) in the event of a recession, how is the Government prepared to assist businesses and Singaporeans.

*22.
*22.

Miss Cheng Li Hui: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) whether the Government forecasts stagflation occurring in Singapore in the next few years; and (b) if so, what are the measures considered to deal with stagflation and its impact on businesses and livelihoods in Singapore.

*23.
*23.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) how has inflation affected consumer demand and business sentiments; and (b) in what ways will Singapore's economic performance be affected by global and domestic inflation.

*24.
*24.

Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance with the current sharp downturn in the global financial markets given soaring inflation, falling US consumer confidence and higher interest rates affecting Singapore, whether the Government will consider (i) postponing the impending GST hike in 2023 and (ii) introducing additional subsidies to help households and affected businesses that are struggling with rising inflation.

No.

63 4 JULY 2022 5 *25.
Ms Jessica Tan Soon Neo: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance with regard to the global supply chain disruptions and countries imposing export restrictions, causing the prices of food to increase continually and putting further pressure on the cost of living for consumers (a) whether the Government will provide further relief for consumers facing eroding spending power, especially basic food necessities; and (b) what measures will be taken to manage the heightened inflationary risks.
*26.

Ms Foo Mee Har: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) what tracking indicators have been used to determine the latest $1.5 billion support package to help Singaporeans cope with inflation; and (b) whether the Government will consider temporarily enhancing the GST offset package for the lower- and middle-income groups if inflationary pressures continue unabated with the impending GST hikes.

*27.
*27.

Mr Liang Eng Hwa: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) what are the key considerations in the sizing and distribution of the latest $1.5 billion support package; (b) whether the various cost pressures faced by different segments of Singaporeans can be further mitigated; and (c) whether the Government will have the fiscal space to introduce further assistance measures in this financial year.

*28.
Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) whether the $1.5 billion support package announced recently and the Assurance Package will continue to offset the five to 10 years of additional GST expenses for Singaporean households; (b) what are the quantitative or qualitative thresholds that will trigger another support package; (c) whether there are any updates on non-fiscal and exchange rate policy measures to address rising prices driven by supply side factors; and (d) what are the risks of a wage-price spiral emerging in Singapore over the next year.
*29.

Ms Mariam Jaafar: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance what are the considerations in determining the size, scope and duration of the support measures in the $1.5 billion support package, including the assumptions on inflation beyond September 2022.

*30.
*30.

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) whether the Government expects inflationary pressures to abate and, if so, when; and (b) how does the Government intend to mitigate the risk of stagflation in the event that “higher-for-longer” inflation persists.

No.

63 4 JULY 2022 6 *31.


Mr Alex Yam Ziming: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) what lessons can be drawn from the results of the recent survey conducted by Blackbox Research which indicate that cost of living and inflation issues raised in 59% of polled respondents are the two biggest threats Singapore is facing today; and (b) whether the Ministry has avenues of recourse for citizens faced with the challenge of rising costs amidst unprecedented global disruptions.

*32.
*32.

Ms Jessica Tan Soon Neo: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment with countries curbing the export of their produce (a) what measures are in place to ensure Singapore’s continued supply of key food items; (b) what further measures will be taken to prevent future disruptions to Singapore’s food supply; and (c) what support can be extended to businesses and consumers to help manage the impact and rising costs as a result of disruptions to food supply.

*33.
*33.

Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment whether the Ministry will consider setting some local production targets for poultry and poultry products under the “30 by 30” food production target of SFA to enhance the resilience of Singapore’s supply of poultry.

*34.
*34.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) what has been the impact on local businesses and consumers in relation to Malaysia's export ban on chicken; (b) how has the Ministry been engaging with the Malaysian government on the supply of poultry; and (c) how will the Ministry protect our local consumers from similar supply shocks involving other products.

*35.
*35.

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) between 2018 and 2021, what is the amount (in tonnes) of live and chilled poultry imported into Singapore from each country or territory; and (b) what are the constraints to expanding the number of approved countries for poultry imports.

*36.
*36.

Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) whether there will be a review of the “30 by 30” target on self-sustainability in food production in view of the rising food security concerns; (b) whether there are plans to accelerate self-sustainability in food production; and (c) what is the long-term target on local food production and nutrition needs beyond the year 2030.

No.

63 4 JULY 2022 7 *37.


Mr Alex Yam Ziming: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) whether the Ministry has been informed in advance of the Malaysian authorities’ decision to stop cross-border supply of fresh chickens; and (b) how has this month-long suspension affected local businesses thus far.

*38.
*38.

Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs what are the reasons for not publicly disclosing the figures on the racial composition of the prison inmate population and criminal offenders.

*39.
Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) since January 2022, whether there is an increase in criminal cases involving renovation contractors taking deposits for renovation works without any intent to carry out such works; (b) what is the aggregate subject matter value for these reported cases between January 2022 to date; (c) what steps have been taken by the Singapore Police Force (SPF) to deal with this problem; and (d) in particular, how much monies have SPF recovered from the perpetrators for the corresponding period.
*40.

Mr Ang Wei Neng: To ask the Minister for Health in the light of the recent rise of COVID-19 infections in Singapore, especially with the increase in the Omicron subvariants infection in the community, what steps will the Ministry take to (i) reduce the infection rate and (ii) encourage seniors to take their second COVID-19 booster shot.

*41.
*41.

Ms Ng Ling Ling: To ask the Minister for Health in light of emerging communicable diseases such as monkeypox and tuberculosis (a) how is the Ministry planning to step up preventive measures to control the spread of such infectious diseases within the population; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider encouraging limited vaccination for the more vulnerable groups such as frontline staff and elderly residents.

*42.
*42.

Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: To ask the Minister for Health whether the Ministry has any data on the risk factors of transmitting or being infected by the monkeypox virus, such as age, demographics or lifestyle choice.

*43.
*43.

Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) how many reports have the reporting channels for unsafe workplace acts, such as SNAP@MOM and the Occupational Safety and Health Hotline, received in the last 12 months; (b) what recourse is there for vulnerable foreign workers who are made to work without safety protection by recalcitrant employers; and (c) whether a fundamental workplace safety review will be carried out.

No.

63 4 JULY 2022 8 *44.


Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) over the past five years, what is the annual number of complaints lodged with the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) reporting hotline, broken down by those lodged by (i) employees (ii) employers and (iii) members of the public; and (b) whether the data reveals any relationship between the number of complaints received and the number of enforcement checks conducted, and potential WSH lapses discovered.

*45.
*45.

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether there are common contributing factors that lead to the workplace accidents; (b) whether there has been an increase in workplace accidents following the easing of COVID-19 safe management measures at the workplace; and (c) whether the Ministry plans to enhance workplace safety at all high-risk worksites and, if so, how.

*46.
*46.

Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) since January 2021, how many food and goods delivery platform workers have died from accidents in the course of their work; (b) whether the Ministry will mandate delivery platforms to report non-fatal job-related injuries and near-misses involving platform workers; and (c) whether the Ministry will consider tracking the compensation and support provided to families of delivery platform workers who have died or suffered serious injuries during work.
*47.

Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry will consider requiring delivery platform firms to provide baseline compensation commensurate with the Work Injury Compensation Act, especially when a delivery worker has been seriously injured or died on the job.

*48.

Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry whether the Government will consider setting up a cooperative to supply petrol to help moderate the costs of fuel.

*49.
*49.

Mr Don Wee: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry whether the Ministry will regulate petrol and diesel pump prices in view of their escalating prices amid record profits for oil companies.

*50.
*50.

Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry in view of the proposal by the United States to put the natural gas industry 'on notice' (a) whether this may have an impact on Singapore’s supply of natural gas within the decade; and (b) if so, whether there will be further changes to Singapore’s energy transition plans by 2050.

No.

63 4 JULY 2022 9 *51.


Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) whether Malaysia’s ban on renewable energy exports will prevent Singapore from importing renewable energy from other countries in the region like Thailand and Laos through existing powerlines in Malaysia; and (b) whether Singapore is in talks with Malaysia to consider joint renewable energy projects that will help secure energy supplies.

*52.
*52.

Ms Poh Li San: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) as the global energy crunch protracts, whether there are (i) additional measures to prevent disruption to Singapore’s electricity supply and (ii) additional schemes being considered to help businesses cushion the impact of volatile wholesale electricity markets; and (b) whether the Ministry is prepared to consider putting a demand cap on energy consumption by energy-intensive industries.

*53.
*53.

Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for Defence what are the key take-aways from the recent Shangri-La Dialogue in relation to geopolitical dynamics and the maintenance of peaceful relations in Asia and globally.

*54.
*54.

Mr Alex Yam Ziming: To ask the Minister for Defence (a) whether the recent Shangri-La Dialogue has achieved its objectives; (b) how will the geo- political tensions that remain between the United States and China affect Singapore; and (c) whether the forum continues to remain useful and relevant for participating countries.

*55.
*55.

Ms Foo Mee Har: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) in the past three years, what is the number of fire cases in HDB estates; (b) what are the top three reasons for these fire incidents; and (c) whether cluttered homes filled with combustible materials is a key risk factor.

*56.
*56.

Mr Liang Eng Hwa: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether the current legislation is adequate to proactively deal with fire hazard risks within residential homes; and (b) whether there is the need to expand enforcement powers to reduce risk of fire in cluttered homes.

*57.

Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment whether the Government will ban the installation and display of LED wreaths, lanterns, balloon arches and similar items at funerals.
*58.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment whether the Government will regulate the supply of LED wreaths at funeral wakes to ensure that the supplier is responsible for ensuring that the LED wreaths are safe for use with separate power supply.

No.

63 4 JULY 2022 10 *59.


Ms Foo Mee Har: To ask the Minister for National Development in light of the high transaction prices of coffee shops in suburban areas with corresponding hikes in stall rentals, how will the Government ensure that stallholders and coffee shops in the neighbourhoods are able to continue to provide affordable food and beverage to residents.

*60.
*60.

Ms Carrie Tan: To ask the Minister for National Development whether there are any plans for rent control measures on coffeeshop stalls in HDB estates in order to curb and prevent high costs of rental from being transferred to consumers.

*61.
*61.

Dr Lim Wee Kiak: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what is the number of vaccinated COVID-19 cases which have developed “long COVID” symptoms; and (b) among these cases, how many has developed further complications or has difficulty with daily routine for a prolonged period of time.

*62.
*62.

Dr Lim Wee Kiak: To ask the Minister for Health (a) how many healthcare institutions have a post-COVID-19 evaluation programme; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider referring certain high-risk groups for post- COVID-19 evaluation by default such as those who are at risk of blood clots.

*63.
*63.

Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for National Development as HDB resale prices have risen for 23 months in a row in June 2022 (a) whether ramping up the supply of HDB BTO flats coupled with the recently implemented property cooling measures are sufficient to rein in the cost of purchasing HDB resale flats; and (b) whether the Government will take additional steps to moderate HDB resale prices.

*64.
*64.

Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: To ask the Prime Minister whether there are plans to permanently implement flexible work arrangements for the public sector such as three days in the office and two days at home.

*65.
Ms Poh Li San: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) for each year in the past two years, what proportion of Aedes mosquitoes breeding sites are found at construction sites and how many Stop Work Orders have been issued; (b) how does NEA proactively ensure that construction sites do not become key breeding spots; and (c) besides summons issued to construction contractors for harbouring mosquito breeding, how can these contractors be held responsible for people staying in the dengue cluster who become infected.
*66.

Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development what is the current number of childcare and infant care spaces with existing capacity but are unable to be filled due to the lack of teachers.

No.

63 4 JULY 2022 11 *67.


Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) in the last five years, what is the annual pre-school enrolment of children aged three years as a percentage of each cohort size; (b) what is the socio- economic breakdown of children aged 3 – 4 years who are enrolled in pre- schools; and (c) whether the Government will review its stance on making pre-school education mandatory for children.

*68.
*68.

Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin: To ask the Minister for Health with regard to the recommended strategy by the Interagency Task Force on Mental Health and Well-being (a) whether the Government will consider elderly mental health as a separate pillar given the increasing proportion and vulnerability of the demographic; and (b) what outcomes and indicators are being set for the work of the Task Force.

*69.
*69.

Ms Tin Pei Ling: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what recourse is available for caregivers of elderly care recipients when the latter exhibit self- harm or aggressive behaviours which require emergency interventions; (b) whether the restructured hospitals, including the Institute of Mental Health, are equipped to handle these cases; and (c) how can geriatricians and social service agencies play a role in such case management.

*70.
Dr Lim Wee Kiak: To ask the Minister for Health regarding exceptional cases where patients urgently require drugs that are not within the HSA’s approved list (a) how can the Ministry assist these patients who require non- standard treatment options to qualify for claims under the current health insurance policy; (b) whether the Ministry will consider setting up a national body where medical experts can be swiftly mobilised to consider and approve these requests; and (c) how often does the list of approved drugs gets updated to keep pace with medical advances.
*71.
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Health whether the Ministry has plans to establish and fund a National Cancer Care Appeals Board consisting of doctors from different specialties to consider appeals from doctors on behalf of individual patients with complex cancers for whom standard therapies may be inappropriate or ineffective, review real world evidence and make timely decisions on whether to allow insurance coverage and MediSave use for off-label drugs or drugs not on the Cancer Drug List.
*72.

Ms Hazel Poa: To ask the Minister for National Development whether the Ministry will consider changing the lease term of replacement flats for residents with difficulty financing the replacement flats offered under HDB’s Selective En-bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS).

No.

63 4 JULY 2022 12 *73.


Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for National Development what options and assistance are available to HDB residents with difficulty financing the replacement flats offered under HDB’s Selective En-bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS).

*74.
*74.

Ms Hazel Poa: To ask the Minister for National Development whether there is any difference in the way compensation is calculated for HDB flats acquired under the Selective En-bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) now, and since it was implemented in 1995.

*75.
Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin: To ask the Minister for National Development in relation to residents affected by HDB’s Selective En-bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS), whether the Government will consider (i) allocating replacement flats with flexible leases and the Lease Buyback Scheme to them, particularly the elderly (ii) a wider range and priority allocation of rehousing options set aside to ensure they are not disadvantaged and (iii) any other financial support including grants, waivers or deferred loan repayments for residents facing financial difficulties.
*76.

Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Minister for National Development with regard to residents who are affected by HDB's Selective En-bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) (a) whether the Government will consider providing a wider range of re-accommodation options in order to reduce or eliminate any cash outlay for those impacted, and for retirees in particular; and (b) what are the options currently being contemplated by the HDB, if any.

*77.
*77.

Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Minister for National Development with regard to projects that have been announced under the Selective En-bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) to date, what has been the average and range of increase in development intensity or plot ratios for sites that are acquired.

*78.
*78.

Ms Hany Soh: To ask the Minister for National Development whether HDB will consider allowing seniors affected by the Selective En-bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) to buy their replacement flats of similar size on shorter flexible leases.

*79.
*79.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Defence (a) when did the SAF introduce the use of seat belts for personnel seated at the back of the tonners; (b) what other safety measures are in place for personnel seated at the back of the tonners; and (c) what led to the SAF making these safety improvements.

No.

63 4 JULY 2022 13 *80.
Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for Education regarding the Ministry’s proposed expansion of the POSB Smart Buddy programme for students across all primary schools by 2025 (a) whether studies have been conducted on the short- and long-term impact of early exposure of children to e-payment transactions in children (i) with existing experience with physical currency such as coins and (ii) without prior experience of physical currency; and (b) if so, what are the results of these studies.

*81.
*81.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Education (a) whether the Ministry will consider reducing the administrative workload of teachers by hiring more members of staff to do administrative work and plan events; and (b) if not, why.

*82.
*82.

Mr Liang Eng Hwa: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) whether the ridership for buses and trains have increased since the relaxation of workplace and safe management measures; and (b) whether there are plans to step up frequencies and capacities of the public transport services.

*83.
*83.

Mr Ang Wei Neng: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) how much has the passenger traffic at Changi Airport recovered in the first half of the year, particularly during the June school holidays, as compared to the pre-COVID- 19 period; (b) what is the progress on beefing up manpower requirements in the aviation sector in response to the higher air traffic volume; and (c) whether the Ministry has plans to deal with potential major flight delays and cancellations.

*84.
*84.

Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: To ask the Minister for Education whether primary and secondary schools currently have the flexibility to stagger school start and end times for different cohorts within the school.

*85.

Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: To ask the Minister for Education whether the Ministry will consider convening a Special Select Committee to review Singapore’s current university cohort participation rate and adult education.

*86.
*86.

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan: To ask the Minister for Education (a) which of the recommendations on the development of Singapore's higher education landscape made by the International Academic Advisory Panel will be adopted; (b) how will the adopted recommendations be implemented; and (c) when will the adopted recommendations be implemented.

No.

63 4 JULY 2022 14 *87.
Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is the average waiting time for Singaporeans who applied for their international passports (both fresh applications and renewals) in the months of April, May and June 2022 respectively; (b) for each of these three months, how many Singaporeans attended at the ICA Building to request for faster processing of their passport applications or to collect their passports; and (c) what further steps will be taken to deal with foreseeable surges in international passport applications by Singaporeans in the future.
*88.

Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) whether the Ministry is able to share any insights on the anonymised data of the Community Development Council (CDC) digital voucher usage from the CDCs; (b) how do the CDCs intend to use these data insights to provide further targeted support for lower-income households; and (c) how will this data and system be used to support the voucher schemes of social agency partners.

*89.
*89.

Ms Mariam Jaafar: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth whether the Major Games Award Programme can be enhanced to include SEA Games Silver and Bronze medallists.

*90.

Ms Carrie Tan: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether any updates can be provided to the sprucing up efforts to get rental housing ready to meet the demand more quickly; and (b) whether the Ministry is looking into other sources of housing units to meet the demand and backlog of rental housing needs.
*91.

Mr Shawn Huang Wei Zhong: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) in the last five years, how many requests are made annually for interim rental housing (IRH); (b) upon approval for allocation, what is the average waiting time to move in for (i) IRH and (ii) under the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme, respectively; and (c) what is the average occupancy duration of tenants under the respective schemes over the last five years.

*92.
*92.

Ms Carrie Tan: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development whether the Ministry will consider an interim rental fee subsidy to be administered by the Social Service Offices (SSOs) for families in financial hardship who have to rent accommodation in the open market due to the long waiting time for HDB to allocate a rental unit to them.

*93.
*93.

Ms Hany Soh: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment whether the Ministry will consider allowing hawkers and food and beverage handlers to use spit guards instead of masks when operating in stalls at coffeeshops and hawker centres.

No.

63 4 JULY 2022 15 *94.


Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) whether the Ministry can provide an update on the number of littering offences in the first half of 2022; and (b) whether there has been an increase in the number of littering offences as compared to the first half of 2021.

*95.
*95.

Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Prime Minister (a) for each year that the $3,000 one-off Baby Support Grant was in effect, how much was paid out under the grant; and (b) whether further support will be granted to Singaporeans who aspire to start families given the current concerns surrounding the rising cost of living and inflation.

*96.
*96.

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan: To ask the Minister for Education whether the Ministry will consider prohibiting those who had committed or convicted of sexual offences and violent crimes from practising as an educator, tuition teacher or enrichment teacher.

*97.
*97.

Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance when determining taxes and financial support, whether the Government can consider factoring in the number of people residing within a private estate home so as to better support very large families residing together.

*98.
*98.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs with regard to the United Kingdom's High Potential Individual (HPI) visa (a) whether the Ministry has requested the British Government to consider including graduates from other autonomous institutes of higher learning in Singapore to be included in the list of eligible universities under the HPI visa; and (b) if not, whether there are plans to do so.

*99.
*99.

Mr Sharael Taha: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information in view of malware tools such as Pipedream or Incontroller which can seize control of critical infrastructure (a) what is the threat that such malware poses to Singapore’s critical infrastructure; (b) what steps have been taken to protect Singapore from such threats; and (c) how can the Government help companies in Singapore to be aware of such threats and take the necessary precaution.

*100.
*100.

Mr Darryl David: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information (a) whether the Government has avenues of recourse in the event a social media organisation does not comply with directions to (i) disable access to harmful content (ii) disallow accounts that have such content or (iii) remove specified types of egregious content; and (b) if so, what are they.

No.

63 4 JULY 2022 16 *101.


Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Health for each year in the past five years, what is the number and percentage of doctors who resign from public hospitals (i) within one year of completing their bonds (ii) within two years of completing their bonds and (iii) within three years of completing their bonds respectively.

*102.
*102.

Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is the average duration taken to investigate a scam-related case; (b) how are cases which involve freezing of bank accounts resolved and the freeze eventually released; and (c) on average for a scam case, what proportion of funds lost will typically be recovered.

*103.
*103.

Mr Seah Kian Peng: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs with regard to people who have renounced their permanent resident (PR) status (a) what are the numbers in 2019, 2020 and 2021 respectively; (b) whether the numbers of these three years are higher than those in the years before; and (c) what are the numbers and percentages of those who renounced their PR status after one year and five years, respectively.

*104.
*104.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs whether the Government will review its criteria for the issue of permanent residence in order to attract skilled workers like nurses and skilled technicians to supplement the workforce in Singapore.

*105.
*105.

Ms Hazel Poa: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether companies are allowed to increase the working hours for foreign employees in order to meet the new minimum salary requirements for work passes, and reducing the working hours of local employees to counter the higher wage cost; (b) whether this is the intended consequence of raising the minimum salary requirements for work passes; and (c) if not, what can the Ministry do to prevent this.

*106.
*106.

Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Ministry has set any targets on the number of workers trained as mental health first responder; (b) if so, what are they; (c) what is the rationale for these targets; and (d) what is the timeline towards achieving these targets.

*107.
*107.

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan: To ask the Minister for Manpower from October 2021 to June 2022, what is the number of work injury claims under the Work Injury Compensation Act that were (i) filed (ii) assessed and (iii) compensated, where the employee sustained the injury whilst working from home.

No.

63 4 JULY 2022 17 *108.


Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) how many Singaporeans are currently employed in the tech industry in Singapore; (b) how many Singaporeans in this industry have been made redundant in the last six months; and (c) what is the impact of the industry’s current ‘consolidation’ in jobs expected to be on the overall job market in Singapore.

*109.
*109.

Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether the Ministry monitors bulk purchases of non-restricted private property by non-Singaporeans; and (b) whether the Ministry will introduce measures to assure Singaporeans who aspire to purchase private property that they will be able to do so without worrying about being priced out by the property market.

*110.
*110.

Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for National Development whether HDB is required to provide support to ensure that every town council is served by a managing agent.

*111.

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what are the current measures of success for the ongoing Ubin Project to conserve and sensitively enhance the island; and (b) what are the future plans to conserve and preserve the island.

*112.
*112.

Ms Ng Ling Ling: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development whether the Ministry will consider mandatory counselling for Singaporean men who intend to marry foreigners on the implications about obtaining their partners' long-term immigration facilities, such as long-term visit passes, permanent residence and Singapore citizenship, before allowing them to register their marriage in Singapore.

*113.
*113.

Mr Shawn Huang Wei Zhong: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development what is the current average waiting time for an undiagnosed special needs child (i) to be screened for developmental needs under the Development Support and Learning Support programme and (ii) to be assessed by early intervention professionals and paediatricians at the Child Development Programme at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital and National University Hospital.

*114.
Ms Mariam Jaafar: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what is the number of families on ComCare Short-to-Medium-Term Assistance (SMTA) that will not be due for renewal by September 2022; (b) whether the revision of assistance rates for ComCare SMTA can be extended to families already on assistance instead of only for new or renewal applicants in order to be more responsive to families’ immediate challenges; and (c) how will the Government ensure that the criteria and process for determining the amount of assistance to be provided can be simplified and expedited.
No.

63 4 JULY 2022 18 *115.

Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling: To ask the Minister for Health (a) with regard to preventive healthcare, how is the Ministry approaching the concept of personalised health diagnostics and precision treatment for better outcomes; and (b) what implication will this have on existing policy guidelines and insurance coverage.

*116.
*116.

Ms Tin Pei Ling: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what are the circumstances and common reasons for rejecting inpatient admission requests by patients or patients’ family members at restructured hospitals during (i) 2020 to date and (ii) 2017 to 2020; and (b) whether there are sufficient capacity at the current restructured hospitals to cope with the needs of an aging population.

*117.
*117.

Dr Wan Rizal: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs (a) whether an update can be provided on the haj pilgrimage for 2022; (b) how will MUIS allocate the haj places to the pilgrims; (c) whether there will be concessions for those registered in the system but are turning 65 years old; and (d) how will MUIS handle appeal cases for the allocation of places for the pilgrimage.

*118.
*118.

Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs whether the Ministry can provide more details on MUIS's investigation processes and findings on Thomas Foods International Lobethal, which resulted in the cessation of the use and import of meat products from them.

*119.
*119.

Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs (a) what is the outcome of the MUIS-directed review of the financial transactions between Madrasah Irsyad Zuhri Al-Islamiah and Irsyad Trust Limited; and (b) what follow-up actions have been taken as a result of the review.

*120.
*120.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) how do the take-up rates among smaller businesses and owners of small buildings for the Energy Efficiency Fund and Green Mark incentives compare with those for larger companies; and (b) whether the Government has studied the possibility of creating an additional grant tier to further incentivise such small businesses and owners of small buildings to take up these schemes.

*121.
*121.

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment whether the Ministry will consider pausing the introduction of sea space leases for next year to give smaller fish farms time to review their business models.

No.

63 4 JULY 2022 19 *122.


Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry given the announcement that the GST hike will proceed as scheduled (a) whether there is an increase in the number of complaints received on businesses encouraging customers to make advance, leveraged purchases to lock in the 7% GST rate; and (b) whether the Government intends to regulate such practices, for example by mandating a cooling-off period during which consumers may cancel their orders without penalty.
*123.

Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs whether he can provide an update on the status of the investigation into an individual allegedly promulgating deviant teachings which MUIS had previously filed a police report on.

*124.
*124.

Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry: To ask the Minister for Transport whether an update can be provided on the completion time and when operations will commence for Phase Three of the Thomson East Coast Line and the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit (RTS) Link.

*125.
*125.

Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry: To ask the Minister for Transport whether the Ministry has plans to help seniors living within private estates to have better transportation access, such as encouraging the private sector to offer mini-bus services for private estate routes or trialing autonomous private hire vehicles for the private estates.

*126.
*126.

Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Prime Minister whether the CPIB has considered any steps to enhance anti-corruption education, especially among Singaporean youths, to ensure that Singaporeans across all generations will continue to reject corruption and strive to keep Singapore a corrupt-free society.

* Members may postpone their Questions to a later sitting day if their Questions are not reached by the end of Question Time (QT).
For such Questions, Members may email to parl_cop@parl.gov.sg in advance a postponement notice that will be effected after QT.

Members must submit their notices to the Clerk within one hour after the end of QT (SO 22(3)).

Questions will be given a written answer if no such notices are received by the Clerk within the stipulated time.

MINISTERIAL STATEMENT 1.

Minister for Home Affairs: Prison Conditions and Rehabilitation.

No.
No.

63 4 JULY 2022 20 AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF PUBLIC BUSINESS Introduction of Government Bills 1.

Minister for Defence: Singapore Armed Forces and Other Matters Bill.

2.

Minister for Defence: Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Amendment No.

2) Bill.

3.

Minister for Law: Public Defenders Bill.

ORDERS OF THE DAY 1.

2.

Endangered Species (Import and Export) (Amendment) Bill [Bill No.

14/2022] – (Minister for National Development) – Second Reading.

Stamp Duties (Amendment) Bill [Bill No.


13/2022] – (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance) – Second Reading.

MEMORANDUM Matter proposed to be raised on the Motion for the Adjournment (SO 2(8)(b)).

Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin (Ang Mo Kio) : Ensuring Equitable Outcomes in Housing Redevelopment.

QUESTIONS FOR WRITTEN ANSWER 1.


Mr Sharael Taha: To ask the Prime Minister when will the Smart Nation Digital Government Group (SNDGG) complete its review of the use of SMS and clickable links for government agencies.

No.

63 4 JULY 2022 21 2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.


Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Prime Minister whether MAS intends to implement further restrictions on cryptocurrency trading platforms with a view to protect unsophisticated persons from entering into such trades which are considered highly risky.
Ms Foo Mee Har: To ask the Prime Minister whether the Government intends to spur the adoption of sustainable finance amongst financial institutions with incentives or regulations to encourage active promotion of green financing and achieve basic competency standards in green financing.
Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Prime Minister in each of the last five years and year-to-date, what is (i) the number of family offices registered in Singapore (ii) their aggregate business spending (iii) the amount of assets under management (AUM) held and (iv) the amount of their AUM invested locally.
Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance what is the current number of households with GST Voucher-U- Save net balances of more than $20 broken down by (i) HDB flat types and (ii) percentage of total number of dwelling units per flat type.

Mr Seah Kian Peng: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs from 2012 to 2021, how many of those who have renounced their Singapore citizenship subsequently requested for it to be reinstated.
Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether there is any delay in the operation date of the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act 2021; and (b) if so, what are the reasons.

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs in view of the spike in the number of Singaporeans applying for new passports in the past few months, what efforts are being made by ICA to speed up the current processing of passport applications.
Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) over the last five years, what have been the main causes of fires in HDB flats that resulted in fatalities; and (b) whether SCDF has plans to launch a specific fire-safety campaign for HDB flat dwellers.

10.
10.

Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) in the last 10 years, what is the number of applicants who have renounced and subsequently reapplied for Singapore citizenship; (b) of these applicants, what is the proportion of those who are successful; and (c) what are the primary reasons for the unsuccessful applications.

No.

63 11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.
18.

4 JULY 2022 22 Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for Law to date, under the COVID- 19 (Temporary Measures) Act 2020 Rental Waiver Framework (a) how many cases of disputed rental waiver are on record; (b) how many cases were (i) referred to an assessor and (ii) ruled in favour of the tenant; and (c) of the cases ruled in favour of the tenant, how many landlords have not complied; and (d) what recourse is available to affected sole proprietor micro SME tenants with limited means and bargaining power.
Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for Law whether the courts can be given the legal powers to set shorter deadlines for death row convicts who wish to appeal against their death sentence to prevent the abuse of court processes and unwarranted delays in the finality of capital punishments.
Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) whether there has been any consideration on re-processing spent nuclear fuel; and (b) whether there is currently any consideration of a threshold purity target for such re-processing.
Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) whether the decision to embark on nuclear power may be precluded by the much more rapid decline of costs per megawatt hour for renewables relative to the much slower decline in nuclear power; and (b) if so, whether resources directed towards nuclear plant construction may be better deployed towards renewables.
Mr Don Wee: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry whether Enterprise Singapore can consider setting up an Alliance for Action involving JTC, LTA, URA, HDB and major logistics companies to look into the shortage of heavy vehicle parking lots by optimising some premises, such as JTC flatted factories which are located near to the HDB estates that are lowly utilised at night.
Mr Don Wee: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry regarding the waiver of building premium collections for extensions of state leases, what are the reasons for JTC to charge building premiums for the properties under its management.
Mr Shawn Huang Wei Zhong: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) whether Singapore is at risk of experiencing a stagflation or recession within the next 24 months; and (b) what are the pre-emptive measures taken to reduce the impact on businesses and Singaporean livelihoods.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry in view of the increase in interest rates globally, how will lending and mortgage rates, as well as economic growth, be affected.

No.

63 19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.


4 JULY 2022 23 Mr Ang Wei Neng: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry for the past three years (a) what is the number of renovation contractors that are registered with Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA); (b) of which, how many renovation contractors are accredited with CaseTrust; and (c) what is the number of complaints that the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) has received involving renovation contractors.
Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) what is the level of stockpile across key food items which are currently held in the Government’s inventory as compared to the stockpile that is required to be held by supply chain partners; (b) how has the number of months of stockpile changed over the past five years; and (c) what is the target level of stockpile in the future.
Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) what is the projected take-up rate of the Energy Efficiency Grant for local SMEs in the food services, food manufacturing, and retail sectors considering the dampened investment appetite due to inflationary pressures and the uncertain economic outlook; and (b) whether the Ministry has been supporting local SMEs in such sectors to take up energy efficient equipment and, if so, how.
Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) what further measures will be taken to detect, prevent or reduce the risk of monkeypox virus transmission on inbound flights or travel into Singapore; and (b) what are the safeguards in place at our checkpoints to protect users and officers stationed there against infection.
Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment whether the Ministry will consider (i) piloting a non- commingled and separate system for recycling different types of recycled items with an aim to reduce the contamination of recyclables and (ii) educating residents on the appropriate recycling bins for various types of items.
the minimum Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) what is the total number of resident cleaners who have attained two Workforce Skills Qualification (WSQ) certificates as required by the training requirements under the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) for the cleaning sector; and (b) what enforcement actions will be taken against the cleaning businesses and companies that failed to ensure that their cleaners meet the PWM training requirements by 31 December 2022.

No.
No.

63 4 JULY 2022 24 25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) how many vertical farms have been built in Singapore so far; and (b) how many of such farms are expected to operate by 2030.
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Education (a) for each year in the past five years, what is the number and percentage of schools that offered (i) flexible work arrangements for their teachers and (ii) staggered working hours for their teachers respectively; and (b) whether the Ministry intends to collect this data if such data is not available.
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Education (a) for each year in the past five years, of the Primary 4 students who (i) fail one subject (ii) fail two or more subjects and (iii) pass all subjects, what percentage of these students live in public rental flats respectively; and (b) whether the Ministry intends to collect this data if such data is not available.
Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development whether training officers from the day activity centres will fall under the bracket of ‘instructors’ instead of ‘nurse aides/care staff’ given the nature of their job scope so as to allow for greater remuneration according to the salary guidelines for the social service sector.
Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) in the past five years, how many cases are there of breach of Personal Protection Orders, Expedited Orders and Domestic Exclusion Orders under the Women’s Charter annually; (b) in how many of those cases involved a repeat offender; and (c) in how many of those cases was the offender penalised with imprisonment and what is the average duration of the prison sentence.
Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) for the past five years, what is the proportion of applications that have been filed by male applicants for (i) Personal Protection Orders (ii) Expedited Orders and (iii) Domestic Exclusion Orders; and (b) whether the Ministry keeps track of the age group of such applicants.
Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) in the past five years, how many domestic, family or sexual violence cases have been reported annually involving boys above the age of 18 years but below 21 years old; and (b) what are the current assistance or interim shelters available for the protection of boys in such an age group.
Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) in the last three months, what proportion of applicants for ComCare Short- to-Medium-Term Assistance (SMTA) have been rejected; and (b) in light of higher costs of living, whether the Ministry will consider adjusting the threshold criteria for household eligibility for ComCare SMTA.

No.

63 33.

34.

35.

36.

37.

38.

39.

40.
40.

4 JULY 2022 25 Ms Mariam Jaafar: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what proportion of children aged four years old are currently enrolled in preschool, broken down by lower-, middle- and higher-income family levels; (b) whether the Government has a target enrolment rate for each class in the near to mid term; and (c) whether the Government has plans to expand MOE kindergartens to take in four-year-old children as a new grade to support transition from pre-school to kindergarten.
Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) how does the Ministry regulate unaccredited social workers; (b) of the five complaints made against unaccredited social workers between 2017 and 2021, whether there has been any egregious cases; and (c) if so, how have these cases been resolved.
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) between 2018 and 2021, how many applications has SGEnable received for the (i) VWO Transport Subsidy Scheme and (ii) Taxi Subsidy Scheme; (b) how many applications have been successful for each of these schemes; and (c) among the unsuccessful applications, what are the reasons for such outcomes.
Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for Health in view of Singapore’s ageing population and increasing number of residents who require wheelchair accessibility, whether the Ministry will work with all private-hire transport platforms to (i) increase and regulate the availability and affordability of seamless wheelchair-accessible travel options and (ii) expand the list of eligible destinations for such services beyond just hospitals.
Dr Wan Rizal: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether the Child and Maternal Health and Well-being Taskforce has plans to enhance the EMBRACE programme to mitigate ante-natal and post-natal mental health depression for mothers; and (b) if so, what are they.
Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Health what training and assistance are provided to polyclinics and general practitioners to equip them to see patients who have intellectual disability for basic healthcare treatment such as for flu, fever and coughs.

Ms Tin Pei Ling: To ask the Minister for Health whether differentiated subsidies can be provided to expecting foreign spouses of Singapore citizens seeking gynaecological care for their pregnancy in Singapore.
Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Health whether the Ministry will consider increasing the MediSave Additional Withdrawal Limits (AWLs) for the private insurance premiums of the Integrated Shield Plan (IP) particularly for CPF members who have ample MediSave savings.

No.

63 4 JULY 2022 26 41.

42.

43.

44.

45.

46.

47.

48.

49.


Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether the Ministry has assessed the extent to which the new limitations on insurance coverage and MediSave use for cancer drug treatments will impact doctors’ treatment decisions for their patients based on their clinical judgement; and (b) how will it affect patient care for those suffering from less common cancers.
Ms Tin Pei Ling: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether the current supply of urgent respite care services meets the demand; and (b) whether the capacity can be increased.

Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Health since the start of the COVID- 19 pandemic (a) how much has been spent on subsidising COVID-19 patients for (i) in-patient treatments and (ii) outpatient treatments; and (b) whether there are plans to cut down the number of Public Health Preparedness Clinics.
Ms Hazel Poa: To ask the Minister for National Development what is the median, lower and upper quartile actual waiting time for HDB BTO flats each year based on those who collected their keys in the past 10 years.

Ms Hazel Poa: To ask the Minister for National Development what is the average HDB flat size for each flat type completed in the years 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2020.
Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) in which month of 2022 will escalator maintenance workers start to be covered under the Progressive Wage Model; (b) what is the number of new entrants who have joined the sector as escalator and lift technicians in the past two years; and (c) whether these new entrants are fresh ITE and polytechnic graduates or mid-career individuals.
Mr Don Wee: To ask the Minister for National Development in each of the past five years, what is the number of applications and quantum of cash bonus disbursed under the Silver Housing Bonus scheme.

Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin: To ask the Minister for National Development what is the percentage increase of HDB resale flats that have been sold for over $1 million in the past five years.
Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin: To ask the Minister for National Development whether any support, such as rent control, is being considered for stall holders who face steep rental hikes in light of the recent high transaction prices of heartland coffee shops and which will also ensure the continued affordability of food for end consumers.

No.

63 50.

51.

52.

53.

54.

55.

56.


4 JULY 2022 27 Mr Liang Eng Hwa: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether the recent record transaction price of the coffeeshop located at Blk 201 Tampines Street 21 will fuel further rental increases for stallholders across other heartland coffeeshops; (b) how can rental rates of heartland coffeeshops be moderated or reduced; and (c) what policy measures are available to manage rising coffeeshop valuations and rental rates.
Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether the Ministry is studying the benefits of the Smart Car Park System developed by ST Engineering and NTU Singapore; and (b) whether there are plans to have more barrier-free smart car parks in Singapore.
Mr Raj Joshua Thomas: To ask the Minister for National Development with regard to the HDB's recent Selective En-Bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) at Ang Mo Kio (a) what is the number of affected owners who are senior citizens and have finished paying their housing loan for their flats; (b) how many of such owners will be required to take a new housing loan to secure their replacement flat under SERS; and (c) whether any assistance will be provided to such owners who are not able to secure a new housing loan.
Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information whether an update can be provided on the Mobile Access for Seniors Scheme as well as the Seniors Go Digital Programmes in assisting seniors to purchasing and learning how to use the latest smartphones.
Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information what schemes are in place for support and assistance provided to seniors looking to transit into digital services such as digital Government services, banking services and payment of medical bills.
Mr Sharael Taha: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information (a) what percentage of students under the age of 21 living in rental flats still do not have a digital learning device or access to Internet at home; and (b) despite programmes such as NEU PC Plus, what more can be done to ensure that the students have access to both digital learning devices and Internet at home.
Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information (a) in the past five years, what has been the annual take-up rate of IMDA’s Home Access Programme amongst pre-qualified households who receive assistance from the Ministry of Social and Family Development’s ComCare Public Assistance Schemes; and (b) what steps have been or will be taken to improve the take-up rate.

No.

63 57.

58.

59.

60.

61.

62.

63.


4 JULY 2022 28 Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information (a) with current IMDA programmes such Home Access, NEU PC Plus and Mobile Access for Seniors, what is the Ministry's projected outreach timeline to vulnerable households without adequate digital access; and (b) whether and what enhancements to the available programmes and inter-Ministry efforts can be made to reduce the digital divide across different income brackets.
Mr Raj Joshua Thomas: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information in view of how critical internet access is to work and life in Singapore, whether the Infocomm Media Development Authority will consider introducing penalties on service providers for internet fault repairs taking longer than 24 hours.
Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth whether an update can be provided on (i) the further checks conducted by PA, with respect to the AGO Report for FY2020/2021 (ii) the findings from the external consultant who was appointed to examine PA’s governance system and oversight functions relating to development projects and contract management for maintenance operations and (iii) the further measures implemented by PA to rectify the lapses and irregularities surfaced in the AGO Report for FY2020/2021.
Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth whether the People’s Association makes donations to charities and, if so, whether it is appropriate to make such donations.
Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) whether there has been an increase in Singaporeans seeking credit counselling assistance via Credit Counselling Singapore over the past three years; and (b) whether the resources and capabilities of credit counselling services can be enhanced.
Ms Mariam Jaafar: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth what percentage of elderly households, where the head of the household is more than 65 years of age, has (i) claimed and (ii) utilised the first tranche of $100 Community Development Council (CDC) vouchers.
Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for Manpower in each of the past five years, under the Work Injury Compensation Act 2019 (a) how many claims have arisen for (i) any form of personal injury (ii) permanent incapacity and (iii) death arising from accidents, in the course of employment as delivery riders; (b) how many of these claims are for persons on part-time or flexi-work arrangements of employment; and (c) what are the respective median compensation benefits awarded.

No.

63 4 JULY 2022 29 64.

65.


66.

67.

68.

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) to date, what is the number of CPF account holders who have not made a CPF nomination; (b) what percentage out of all CPF account holders does this number translate into; and (c) what are the profiles in terms of age, gender and race.
Mr Seah Kian Peng: To ask the Minister for Manpower for each year over the last five years (a) how many migrant domestic workers have suffered injuries in the course of their work; and (b) what is the average compensation given to each of these migrant domestic workers.
Ms Carrie Tan: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) in the past 12 months, how many Letters of Consent (LOC) for Long Term Visit Pass (LTVP) holders are approved in each month; (b) whether LOC applications to work in certain industries are given priority and, if so, what are these industries; (c) whether the Ministry has any measures to prevent exploitation of LTVP holders by employers who hire them informally without contract; and (d) what recourse do LTVP holders have if they fall prey to exploitative employers.
Mr Raj Joshua Thomas: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) to date, how many companies have taken up the Workcare Grant; (b) how much has been disbursed under the Grant; and (c) whether there any plans to increase the take-up of the Grant.
Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Ministry has studied the impact of living conditions on sleep quality and quantity among migrant workers, and in turn, the impact of sleep quality on workplace safety; (b) if so, what have the findings of such studies been; (c) whether there are efforts in the pipeline aimed at alleviating heat in migrant worker dormitories, where necessary; and (d) whether the Ministry has studied feedback from workers living in dormitories on possible ways to alleviate the heat problem faced by migrant workers.
PAPERS PRESENTED 2022 Date Presented S. L. 580 Legal Profession (Amendment No.

3) Rules 2022 (Solicitors' Accounts) ..... 06 May 2022 S. L. 581 Road Traffic System) (Amendment) Rules 2022 (Motor Vehicles, Quota ..... 06 May 2022 No.

63 4 JULY 2022 30 PAPERS PRESENTED - continued 2022 Date Presented S. L. 582 Legal Profession Agreement) Regulations 2022 (Conditional Fee ..... 09 May 2022 S. L. 583 Legal Profession (Professional Conduct) (Amendment No.
2) Rules 2022 ..... 09 May 2022 S. L. 584 Singapore Armed Forces (Military Court of Appeal) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 ..... 11 May 2022 S. L. 585 Public Entertainments (Composition Entertainment (Amendment) Rules 2022 of Offences Licensing and Meetings by Arts Officer) ..... 17 May 2022 S. L. 586 Public Entertainments (Arts Entertainment) Rules 2022 ..... 17 May 2022 S. L. 587 Customs (Duties) (Amendment No.
2) Order 2021 ..... 19 May 2022 S. L. 588 Customs (Motor Vehicles Special Tax) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 ..... 19 May 2022 S. L. 589 Customs (Amendment) Order 2021 (Duties - Exemption) ..... 19 May 2022 S. L. 590 Goods and Services Tax (Imports Relief) (Amendment No.

4) Order 2021 ..... 19 May 2022 S. L. 591 Customs (Amendment) Regulations 2021 ..... 19 May 2022 S. L. 592 Customs (Amendment) Regulations 2022 ..... 19 May 2022 Pres.
Co. 56 Report of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights on the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Amendment) Bill [Bill No.

11/2022] ..... 20 May 2022 Pres.

Co. 57 Report of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights on the Adoption of Children Bill [Bill No.

12/2022] ..... 20 May 2022 No.
63 4 JULY 2022 31 PAPERS PRESENTED - continued 2022 Date Presented S. L. 593 Protection from Harassment Act 2014 (Amendment of Schedule) Order 2022 ..... 20 May 2022 S. S. 228 Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore Sustainability/Integrated Report 2021 ..... 20 May 2022 229 Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore Audited Financial Statement 2021 ..... 20 May 2022 S. L. 594 Building Control Productivity) 2022 and (Buildability (Amendment) Regulations ..... 30 May 2022 S. 230 Pioneer Generation Fund Audited Financial Statements for the Financial Period ended 31 March 2022 ..... 30 May 2022 S. 231 Goods and Services Tax Voucher Fund Audited Financial Statements the for Financial Period ended 31 March 2022 ..... 30 May 2022 S. S. 232 233 S. L. 595 Singapore Public Service Commission Annual Report 2021 ..... 31 May 2022 Annual Report of the President Industrial Arbitration Court 2021 ..... 01 June 2022 Environmental Protection and Management (Hazardous (Amendment) Substances) Regulations 2022 ..... 02 June 2022 S. L. 596 Environmental Public Health (Cemeteries) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 ..... 06 June 2022 S. L. 597 Environmental Public Health (Crematoria) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 ..... 06 June 2022 S. L. 598 Environmental Public Health Parlours) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (Funeral ..... 06 June 2022 S. L. 599 Employment Agencies (Amendment) Rules 2022 ..... 06 June 2022 No.
63 4 JULY 2022 32 PAPERS PRESENTED - continued 2022 Date Presented S. L. 600 Road Traffic (Electronic Road Pricing System) (Amendment No.
2) Rules 2022 ..... 07 June 2022 S. L. 601 Road Traffic (Amendment) Rules 2022 (Motor Vehicles, Test) ..... 07 June 2022 S. 234 Public Transport Fund Financial Statements for Financial Year ended 31 March 2022 ..... 07 June 2022 S. L. 602 Immigration (Exemption from Section 36) Order 2022 ..... 07 June 2022 S. L. 603 Customs (Exemption from Section 15(2) - Free Trade Agreements, etc.)
Order 2022 ..... 17 June 2022 S. L. 604 Health Products (Cell, Tissue and Gene Therapy (Amendment) Regulations 2021 Products) Health (Amendment No.

3) Regulations 2021 (Clinical Products Trials) ..... 17 June 2022 ..... 17 June 2022 S. L. 605 S. L. 606 S. L. 607 S. L. 608 Products Health (Clinical Research Materials) (Amendment No.

3) Regulations 2021 ..... 17 June 2022 Health Products Pharmacies) Regulations 2021 (Licensing of Retail 2) (Amendment No.

Health (Amendment No.


2) Regulations 2021 Products (Medical Devices) ..... 17 June 2022 ..... 17 June 2022 S. L. 609 Health Products (Therapeutic Products) (Amendment No.

2) Regulations 2021 ..... 17 June 2022 S. L. 610 Health Products (Cell, Tissue and Gene Therapy (Amendment) Regulations 2022 Products) S. L. 611 Health Materials) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (Clinical Research Products ..... 17 June 2022 ..... 17 June 2022 No.
63 4 JULY 2022 33 2022 S. L. 612 PAPERS PRESENTED - continued Date Presented Health Products (Cosmetic Products – ASEAN Cosmetic Directive) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 ..... 17 June 2022 S. L. 613 Health Products (Good Manufacturing Practice Certificate – Cosmetic Products) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 ..... 17 June 2022 S. L. 614 Health Products Pharmacies) 2022 (Licensing of Retail (Amendment) Regulations ..... 17 June 2022 S. L. 615 Health Products (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (Medical Devices) ..... 17 June 2022 S. L. 616 Health Products (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (Oral Dental Gums) ..... 17 June 2022 S. L. 617 Health Products (Therapeutic Products) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 ..... 17 June 2022 S. L. 618 Poisons (Amendment) Rules 2022 ..... 17 June 2022 S. L. 619 Housing and Development (Mortgage to Lender) (Amendment) Rules 2022 ..... 17 June 2022 S. L. 620 COVID-19 Measures) (Temporary (Reopening - Control Order) (Amendment No.
5) Regulations 2022 ..... 20 June 2022 S. S. 235 236 S.L.

621 The Connect Fund Financial Statements for the Financial Year ended 31 March 2022 ..... 23 June 2022 Central Provident Fund Board Annual Report 2021 ..... 27 June 2022 Diplomatic (Permanent (Amendment) Order 2022 and Consular Relations Arbitration) Court of ..... 27 June 2022 No.

63 4 JULY 2022 34 PAPERS PRESENTED - continued 2022 Date Presented S. 237 MUIS Annual Report 2021 ..... 30 June 2022