Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698849426696.pdf (Singapore)
THIRTEENTH PARLIAMENT OF SINGAPORE SECOND SESSION REVISED ORDER PAPER MONDAY, 19 NOVEMBER 2018 No.

85 12 noon 1 QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER* *1.


Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) what are the factors that the Ministry considers before deciding to outsource the hawker centre management :from NEA to private companies; and (b) whether the Ministry has oversight of the general contract :framework or pricing models that the private management companies impose on their tenants.

*2.
*2.

Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling: To ask the Minister forth~ Environment and Water Resources (a) what are the different types of new hawker centre models available today; (b) of all the current hawker centres, how many of them are under these new models of management; and (c) whether there is a time line for measuring the effectiveness of each model when the new hawker centre models are being tested.

*3.
*3.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) what is the total number of vacant stalls at NEA-run hawker centres and markets as at 30 September 20 18; and (b) what has been the take up rate of vacant stalls since NEA removed the floor price.

*4.

*5.
*4.

*5.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) how many hawkers have taken part in the Incubation Stall Programme; (b) how many will be continuing beyond the incubation period; and (c) for those who will not continue, what are the reasons and how will the Ministry address them.

Ell" Dl!"
Ell" Dl!"

Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) what challenges do hawkers face under the social enterprise hawker centres initiative; (b) what kind of pricing model should hawkers and patrons expect under this initiative; and (c) how is the Ministry addressing the unhappiness resulting :from this initiative.

No.

85 19 NOVEMBER 2018 2 *6.
Mr Liang Eng Hwa: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) whether the total cost of running a hawker stall under the new social enterprise-run hawker centres model has been significantly higher than that of the NEA-run model; (b) whether the new model has helped serve the policy intent of providing affordable food and sustaining hawker culinary skills and trade; and (c) whether the contractual terms and requirements imposed by the operators of the new model on the hawkers are reasonable and fair.
*7.

Dr Lim Wee Kialk: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources .

(a) whether the Ministry can stop further outsourcing of hawker centres to private operators; (b) whether the Ministry conducts an oversight of the contract terms between the management and tenants of outsourced hawker centres; and (c) what is the Ministry doing to resolve the many issues arising from its decision to outsource hawker centres.

*8.
*8.

Mr Zainal Sapari: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) what are the key success factors that can be attributed to NEA managed hawker centres in bringing affordable and good food to the public; and (b) what are the challenges in replicating the successful NEA-managed hawker centres to new hawker centres operated by social enterprises.

*9.
*9.

Mr Gan Thlam Polhl: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) what are the cost components of running the existing hawker centres and markets; (b) whether there is a subsidy or grant given to each hawker or market stall and, if so, what is the subsidy; and (c) whether the same subsidy or grant is extended to social enterprise operators.

*10.

Mr Gan Thlam Polhl: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) what has been the success rate of tray returns since.
the programme was launched; and (b) whether there is a need to redesign the tray return collection points through enhancement of the washing area for patrons to return direct to the washing area-cum-collection point for better efficiency and reduce bird-related hygiene issues.
*H. Mr MeRvin Yo:ng Yilk Clb.ye: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) how many hawker stalls are paying a rental of$10,000 or more per month; (b) what is the current highest rental that a hawker stall is paying; and (c) whether the Ministry will consider implementing a cap on the rental to better manage food prices.

No.

85 19 NOVEMBER 2018 3 *12.


Mr Ong Teng Koon: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources whether hawker center stall rental rates can be de-linked from private market rental rates including privately-owned HDB coffeeshops and free market bidding rates.

*13.
*13.

Mr Darryl David: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) what measures are in place for the Ministry to take action against private operators of hawker centres who do not abide by the terms of the operating contract; and (b) what action can be taken against private operators of hawker centres whose actions or lack thereof lead to reputational damage for the Ministry, other government agencies, hawkers and other community stakeholders.

*14.
*14.

Prof Lim Sun Sun: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources whether the Ministry has considered working with NHB's Our Hawker Culture travelling exhibition to better grasp public opinion and tap new ideas on what Singaporeans expect of our hawker centres beyond providing affordable food.

*15.
*15.

Prof Lim Sun Sun: To ask the Minister for the Envir~nment and Water Resources where food supply is required at complexes that"\rre open 24 hours, whether the Ministry has considered more strategic use of vending machines that provide hot food in place of mandating that hawker stalls remain open.

* 16.
* 16.

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) whether rent and all ancillary charges payable by hawkers in hawker centres operated by not-for-profit social enterprises, such as dishwashing charges, are lower than those in NEA-managed hawker centres; and (b) if not, whether the Government intends to take any corrective action to reduce any additional business costs for the hawkers accordingly.

*17.
Assoc Prof Walter Theseira: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) what is the relative cost structure of hawker stalls under NEA management, social enterprise management, and for-profit co:ffeeshops respectively; (b) what is the nature and extent of implicit subsidies provided in NEA-managed hawker centres; and (c) whether the Ministry has plans for subsidising the operating costs of hawkers when hawkers experience difficulties in providing affordable food while earning a reasonable income.
*18.

Miss Cheng Li Hui: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) how does NEA intend to help mitigate the cost increase in rental for the social enterprise-run hawker centres over time; and (b) whether NEA has any plans to run the hawker centres currently operated by social enterprises.

No.

85 19 NOVEMBER 2018 4 *19.


Miss Cheng Li Hui: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) how long will NEA take to complete the stock-take of the social enterprise model of hawker centres; (b) whether the findings will be published · for public consultation; and (c) whether the on-going debate on social enterprise-run hawker centres will affect Singapore's bid for hawker culture to be listed under the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
*20.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry in view of the impending takeover of Kopitiam by NTUC Enterprise (a) how will the Government ensure that cooked food prices remain low and affordable; and (b) whether this takeover violates the anti-competition rules.

*21.
Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (~) whether the proposed acquisition of the Kopitiam food operator chain by NTUC Enterprise will result in a substantial lessening of competition; and (b) whether the acquisition will be suspended pending the approval of the Competition Commission of Singapore, so as to avoid a repeat of the situation with Grab's acquisition ofUber's South East Asian operations where its impact on ride-hailing platform services in Singapore could not be reversed.
*22.

Mr Darryl David: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) over the past three years, how many cases are there of domestic helpers who have defaulted on loans from licensed moneylenders; (b) whether the Ministry intends to implement any restrictions on domestic helpers taking such loans; (c) what are the consequences for such repeat defaulters; and (d) what are the consequences for their employers.

*23.
*23.

Mr Darryl David: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) over the past three years, how many domestic helpers have taken loans from unlicensed moneylenders; (b) what are the consequences for such domestic helpers; and (c) what recourse do the employers of these domestic helpers have should they be harassed by the unlicensed moneylenders.

· *24.
· *24.

Mr Sitoh Yih Pin: To ask the Minister for Law (a) what is the number of foreign domestic workers who have procured licensed moneylenders in 2017 and 2018; (b) what are the liabilities for employers of foreign domestic workers who default on repayment of such loans; and (c) whether the Ministry has any plans to place any restrictions on foreign loans from .

domestic workers procuring such loans.

No.

85 19 NOVEMBER 2018 5 *25.


Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry: To ask the Minister for Defence in the wake of the recent SAF training accidents, whether there will be an SAF-wide review on training doctrines that will factor in the learning from the various incidents.

*26.
*26.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Defence in light of the recent fatal accident involving a national serviceman (a) how many serious vehicular incidents have there been over the past three years; (b) what have been the safety enhancements since the Shoalwater Bay Training Area incident in September 2017; and (c) what are the Ministry's proposed plans since this latest incident.

*27.
*27.

Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Defence regarding the death of a national serviceman during training on 3 November 2018 (a) what was the cause of his death; (b) what is the status of the investigations; and (c) how can processes be improved to reduce the probability of something similar happening in the future.

*28.
Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community andY outh in respect of the Auditor-General's Report for FY2017/18 (a) how much additional costs were hidden in the award of contracts to tJir overseas tenderer for the Mid-Autumn Festival2016 and Chinese New Year 2017; (b) whether there were such similar hidden costs paid to this overseas tenderer from 2014 to 2016 and how much was it in total; (c) what independent investigations had been carried out to address the tell-tale signs that the reimbursement claims made by the People's Association (PA) officer for overseas purchases for use in Chingay Parade 2017 might not be authentic; and (d) whether any of the statutory auditors ofPA in previous audits flagged out such lapses since 2013.
*29.

Mr Ang Wei Neng: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs for the past five years including the first eight months of this year (a) how many cases of arson relating to illegal money lending have been reported; (b) how many cases have been solved involving the arrest of the (i) culprits who set the fire and (ii) master mind behind the arson; and (c) whether the Ministry can consider increasing the punishment for crimes involving arson and illegal money lending.

*30.
*30.

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs whether all private security officers working in public places can be treated as "public service workers" under the Protection from Harassment Act instead oflimiting protection under the Act to only those working in specified places such as public healthcare institutions, educational institutions, bus interchanges and railway premises.

No.

85 19 NOVEMBER 2018 6 *31.
Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether cleaners and waste collectors can be treated as "public service workers" under the Protection from Harassment Act; and (b) whether such a class of workers can be expanded to cover all cleaners and waste collectors working in places to which the public has access, as such individuals are performing services which are essential to the well-being of the public or the proper functioning of Singapore and are vulnerable to harassment and abuse in the course of their work.
*32.

Mr Yee Cb.ia Hsing: To ask the Minister for Health what is the estimated percentage of the population that is deemed deficient in Vitamin D and whether there are measures to increase awareness of the risks associated with Vitamin D deficiency.

*33.
*33.

ProfFatimah Lateef: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether the Ministry has overarching policies, guidelines and oversight for handling sensitive health data and records of patients in both the public and private healthcare sectors; and (b) if so, whether there are audits and checks scheduled and conducted that are over and above that which individual institutions may have.

*34.
*34.

Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for National Development how is the land cost amount which is included in the sale price of a new HDB flat tabulated.

*35.
*35.

Dr Intan Azura Mokbtar: To ask the Minister for National Development whether a manual fire alarm can be installed at the lift lobby of every floor or at least at the ground floor lift lobby of each HDB block so as to allow residents to raise the alarm and notify other residents should any in-unit fire break out within the block, similar to what is provided in private residential or commercial buildings.

*36.
Mr Zainal Sapari: To ask the Minister for Education (a) whether there are plans to review the current practice of ranking teachers for performance appraisal every year as an approach to cultivate a high performance workforce and identify low performers; (b) whether the benefits of performance ranking outweighs its challenges especially in terms having to ensure a 'correct' distribution of scores and creating a culture of individual competitiveness that is detrimental to team work and team dynamics; and (c) what alternatives has the Ministry considered for staff performance appraisals other than the current method.
L.'·.'.

~~ No.

85 19 NOVEMBER 2018 7 *37.

ProfFatimah Lateef: To ask the Minister for Education (a) whether there can be a more comprehensive and widespread incorporation of mental wellness and resilience training for students from primary and secondary schools; and (b) what are the roles of staff in the Psychology Division of the Ministry.

*38.
*38.

Mr Seah Kian Peng: To ask the Minister for Education whether it is desirable for schools to achieve an even spread of students from different socio economic status and, if so, what are some of the measures that have been introduced or are being contemplated.

*39.

Ms Irene Quay Siew Ching: To ask the Minister for Education what are the key performance indicators and the percentage of these indicators that have been met under the $19.91 million programme for the SkillsFuture FY17/18 study awards.
*40.

Mr Liang Eng Hwa: To ask the Minister for Finance (a) how many companies have been helped by the Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs) since the launch of the ITMs; (b) what are the delivered outcomes so far; and (c) how can the ITMs be scaled up to help more companies.

*41.
*41.

Ms Anthea Ong: To ask the Minister for Finance (a) h~ many employers have participated in the Business and Institutions of a Public Character Scheme and what is the total number of hours volunteered by employees based on rebates claimed to date; and (b) whether there is a plan for an "Individual and Institutions of a Public Character Scheme" to encourage more volunteerism by individuals beyond the tax rebate for donations.

*42.
*42.

Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs whether the Government will offer humanitarian relief to help alleviate the crisis and famine in Yemen.

*43.

Prof Fatimah Lateef: To ask the Minister for Health with our three medical schools now fully established and stabilised (a) how is Singapore meeting our needs for healthcare professionals; and (b) how is our population-to-doctor ratio doing compared to the last five years.

*44.
*44.

Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Health (a) when a mentally distressed patient requiring continued medication and supervision is discharged, whether there is a follow up system to ensure that the patient will continue with the prescribed treatment; and (b) how does the Ministry follow up on such cases where there is no caregiver who is able to manage the patient adequately to ensure the necessary supervision and help.

No.

85 19 NOVEMBER 2018 8 *45.


Mr Melvin Yong Yik Cbye: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is the number of outlets found selling liquor beyond the specified trading hours and outside of the licensed premises within the Liquor Control Zone in Little India since 1 April20 15; (b) what actions have been taken against these outlets and the persons-in-charge; and (c) what plans does the Ministry have to curb such violations.

*46.
*46.

Mr Lim Biow Cbuan: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs since 2014, what actions have been taken by the Police in relation to complaints regarding illegal moneylenders advertising for loans via SMS messages or other forms of electronic communication.

*47.
*47.

Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Minister for Law (a) what is the current number of Singaporeans aged 65 and above who have remained in bankruptcy beyond five years; (b) what is the number of such Singaporeans who have made bankrupt by Government agencies; and (c) what are these agencies.

*48.
*48.

Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar: To ask the Minister for Manpower over the past five years (a) how many workers have lodged a complaint against their employers for overinflating their salaries where the actual amount they receive as salary is actually lower than that declared to the Ministry or stated on their pay slip; and (b) among those who complained, how many are (i) workers above the age of 60 years old (ii) blue collar workers (iii) PMEs and (iv) foreign workers respectively.

*49.
*49.

Mr Sak.tiandi Supaat: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) what is being done to ensure that the new opportunities and job roles brought about by automation will be equally distributed across all affected workers; (b) whether there are plans for the Government to partner private companies to "develop more training programmes to help affected industries make the transition; and (c) how many people have upskilled themselves in the past three years tapping on the Government schemes.

*50.
*50.

Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for National Development for Home Improvement Programme ll, whether HDB will consider the use of (i) smart technology for toilet flushes and (ii) single-lever taps for wash basins to make it more user-friendly for the elderly.

No.85 19 NOVEMBER 2018 9 *51.

Mr Ong Teng Koon: To ask the Minister for National Development whether stipulating a minimum built-up area of 85 sqm for private properties will distort market prices.

*52.
*52.

Dr Chia Shi-Lu: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development with regard to the Lasting Power of Attorney (a) whether the validity period of doctors' letters certifying the condition of the patient is uniformly accepted by all banks, insurance companies and Government agencies; and (b) if not, whether the Ministry will consider standardising the validity period to reduce inconvenience and hardship for affected families.

*53.
*53.

Ms Anthea Ong: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what is the employment rate for differently-abled persons in the last three years; (b) whether there are statistics on which groups of differently-abled persons are the most affected by unemployment and why; and (c) given the diversity of our society, whether matters affecting differently-abled groups are reported on and considered before a Bill is passed and, if not, whether there is a need for a governmental body to do so.
*54.

Ms Foo Mee Har: To ask the Minister for National J?evelopment what effective strategies have been developed to deal with pigeoit nuisance at HDB estates.

*55.
*55.

Ms Rahayu Mahzam: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) what is the circular economy framework in place for various waste-producing sectors in Singapore including those for packaging and electronic products; (b) whether the current legislation is sufficient to sustain a circular economy in the waste sector; and (c) if not, whether there are plans to introduce further legislation.

*56.
*56.

Ms Foo Mee Har: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) what criteria are used to guide Government funding support for start-ups; (b) how are the investments distributed across various sectors; and (c) how much is invested in deep-tech start-ups.

*57.
Miss Cheng Li Hurl: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry with regard to the trade tensions between China and the United States (a) what are the implications of a lower economic growth forecast for 2019 and what can be done to mitigate it; (b) whether Singapore's exports have decreased over the last few months; (c) which industries are the hardest hit and how can they cope with this difficult period; and (d) whether the plans laid out in the Industry Transformation Maps are affected and require calibration.
No.

85 19 NOVEMBER 2018 10 *58.
Mr Liang Eng Hwa: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) whether the Bus Services Reliability Framework (BSRF) which requires buses to adhere strictly to the time schedule has led to the behaviour of buses captains deliberately slowing or stopping at bus stops when they are ahead of schedule to avoid incurring penalties; (b) whether the framework can be fine-tuned to improve commuters' experience and not unnecessarily prolonging the bus journeys; and (c) whether long-distance trunk services can be exempted from the BSRF.
*59.

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) why has the Government decided to allow applications for licensed public personal mobility device (PMD)-sharing services from January 2019; and (b) whether the Government will consider delaying the introduction of such commercial shared public PMD services until the riding culture for PMDs has improved and incidences of unsafe and inconsiderate usage have subsided.

*60.
*60.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Prime Minister what measures are being taken to ensure that (i) the minimisation of the risk that SGX-listed companies experience a sudden deterioration in financial viability and (ii) SGXRegCo is sufficiently resourced to discharge its obligations.

*61.
*61.

Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development what is the take-up rate for adoption leave after the legislative changes introduced in July 2017 that allows for adoptive mothers to get 12 weeks of adoption leave.

*62.
*62.

Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong: To ask the Minister for Education (a) what are the care resources available to students with special needs and mental health conditions in the polytechnics; and (b) whether there is ~nough continuity in support for students with such needs and conditions going from secondary schools to the polytechnics.

*63.
*63.

Ms Rahayu Mahzam: To ask the Minister for Education whether the inter agency taskforce on Uplifting Pupils in Life and Inspiring Families will be looking at issues affecting older children other than pre-school children, and youths in their review of the support in place for students from disadvantaged families.

*64.
*64.

Mr Lim Biow Cl!man: To ask the Minister for Finance whether the Additional Buyer Stamp Duty remission can be extended to singles who have bought a second property and subsequently sold the first property within six months ':from their purchase of the second property.

*65.

Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Health what is being done by our hospitals to reduce the probability of patients catching an infection at the hospital 'Yhile being treated for other medical conditions.

No.
No.

85 19 NOVEMBER 2018 11 *66.

Dr Chia Shi-Lu: To ask the Minister for Health with regard to the health supplements dispensed by our public hospitals and polyclinics such as folic acid and iron supplements for pregnant patients (a) in each of the last three years, what have been (i) the amounts spent by patients and (ii) the amounts of subsidy paid by the Government; and (b) how do our medical institutions ensure that these products meet the prescribed levels of supplement required by the patients.

*67.
*67.

Assoc Prof Daniel Gob Pei Siong: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs whether there is a need to regulate the sale and use of spy or hidden cameras so as to reduce cases involving the outrage of modesty and violation of privacy.

*68.
*68.

Mr Zainal Sapari: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) what is the number of companies that have tapped on the Lean Enterprise Development Scheme (LEDS) since it started; (b) how do these companies perform in terms of achieving the outcomes of becoming more manpower lean, having a stronger Singaporean core and a better quality workforce; (c) how are the outcomes measured and monitored to determine the success of the scheme; and (d) which industry or sector has been most impacted by LEDS.

*69.
*69.

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for MaJwower with regard to the Managing Onsite Vehicular Safety (MOVeS) programme (a) how many companies have taken up the programme so far; (b) what are the main reasons for companies not embarking on the programme; and (c) what is the Ministry's plan to increase the take-up rate.

*70.
*70.

Dr Lily Neo: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) how many incidents of fires in HDB flats have there been in each of the last three years; and (b) what are the main causes ofthese fires.

*71.
*71.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for National Development whether the Ministry will consider waiving the requirement for ex-spousal consent on who can list the children as occupiers in a fiDB flat application if the ex-spouse has already purchased a private property or a HDB flat following the divorce.

*72.
Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development regarding youths residing in places of detention and juvenile rehabilitation centres established under the Children and Young Persons Act (a) how does the Government ensure that the conditions of detention or residence promote rehabilitation; (b) what oversight mechanism and grievance procedure exist to safeguard the welfare of the detained youths; and (c) whether past reviews of violent incidents in the Singapore Boys Home have identified any contributory factors for the occurrences.
No.

85 19 NOVEMBER 2018 12 *73.

Ms Rahayn Mahzam: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether there are structural gaps in the existing support structures for low-income and vulnerable families in Singapore and, if so, what are these gaps; and (b) what are the specific opportunities for the community to assist and augment the existing support structures to close these gaps.

*74.
*74.

Mr Chong Kee Hiong: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources what are the assessed threats of rising sea levels to our reservoirs and coastai areas, particularly reclaimed land, and what are the measures to boost the protection for these areas.

*75.
*75.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry with the coming into force of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) on 30 December 2018 (a) what will be its near and long-term importance on Singapore's trade and GNP; (b) how can our companies take advantage of the CPTPP; and (c) how does it impact Enterprise Singapore's and Economic Development Board's strategies.

*76.
*76.

Mr Ong Teng Koon: To ask the Minister for Transport whether there are plans I '!

to implement express trains in new MRT lines.

*77.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Transport with regard to the trial on enhanced security screening at MRT stations (a) how will the Ministry minimise inconvenience and delays to commuters; and (b) how the preparedness of transport operators be further improved in the face of security threats.

*78.
*78.

Ms Anthea Ong: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what is the status of the Community Mental Health Master Plan launched in 2017; (b) with the need for upstream prevention to promote mental well being, whether research has been done on the effectiveness of mental health education in countries with mandatory mental health literacy programmes in schools; and (c) whether there is a plan to study the impact of mental health on skills, productivity and innovation.

*79.
*79.

Mr Seah Kian Peng: To ask the Minister for Health what is the extent of doctors over-servicing patients and what measures are in place to address this.

No.

85 19 NOVEMBER 2018 13 *80.

Mr Murali.


Pillai: To ask the Minister for Manpower what are the circumstances in which the CPF Board exercises its discretion to allow its members, who have turned 55 and do not have savings above their basic retirement sums in their Retirement Accounts, to complete the purchase of HDB flats using the monies in their Retirement Account and, in such situations, how much in percentage terms will be allowed to be withdrawn from the members' CPF accounts.

*81.
*81.

Ms Foo Mee Har: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) how has the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) resulted in more desirable outcomes than the Minimum Wage Model; and (b) what changes are being considered for PWM to address the needs of low-wage workers.

*82.
*82.

Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry: To ask the Minister for National Development whether the Additional CPF Housing Grant and Special CPF Housing Grant can be extended to frrst-time buyers of HDB flats in matured estates as these buyers may wish to live near to their parents within the 4km radius.

*83.
*83.

Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) how many and what proportion of HDB rental flats under the Public' Rental Scheme are currently allocated to Singaporeans who have owned HDB flats previously; and (b) how does prior home ownership affect the priority of allocation of IIDB rental flats compared with applicants who have not previously owned HDB flats.

*84.
*84.

Mr Seah Kian Peng: To ask the Minister for Health what are the causes of healthcare inflation which has seen double digit growth over the past 10 years, far outstripping normal inflation.

*85.
*85.

Ms Irene Quay Siew Ching: To ask the Minister for Health with regard to children with chronic conditions who are refused health insurance and are not eligible for Medifund due to income criteria, what recourse do these children have should they come down with other clrronic diseases unrelated to their existing illness and which requires financial aid.

*86.
Assoc Prof Walter Theseira: To ask the Minister for Manpower what measures are taken to protect the rights of the self-employed such as hawkers and private-hire drivers who are often required to provide minimum hours of work or fulfill other conditions of service when signing contracts for their trade; (b) under what conditions will such contracts give rise to an employment relationship under the Employment Act; and (c) whether the Ministry will provide guidance to the self-employed on structuring self-employment trade contracts to provide for their welfare and to avoid effecting an employment relationship.
No.

85 19 NOVEMBER 2018 14 *87.

Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Minister for National Development in the past 10 years, what has been the number of feedback received from residents each year with regard to noise generated by pump and lift fixtures due to design issues ofHDB flats.

*88.
*88.

Dr Lim Wee Kiak: To ask the Minister for Health (a) how many children below 18 years of age are currently diagnosed with obesity-related illnesses; (b) whether there are adequate medical resources to cater to their healthcare needs; and (c) what is being done to prevent and reduce obesity among children.

*89.
*89.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Health whether the Ministry is aware of any air filters available in the market which have been proven to effectively filter out the harmful effects of secondhand smoke in private homes.

· *90.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for National Development what educational or other measures will be taken by HDB to address possible safety issues in relation to water heaters connected by three-pin plugs.

*91.
*91.

Ms Irene Quay Siew Ching: To ask the Minister for Health what are the key performance indicators and the percentage of these indicators that have been met under the $62.5 million pilot to scale up hospitals' adoption of smart technologies as part of the Smart Nursing Ward initiative under the Healthcare Industry Transformation Map.

*92.
*92.

Mr Pritam Singh: To ask the Minister for Health whether the Ministry will reschedule or bring forward the specialist appointment dates of subsidised Singaporean patients arising from the Ministry's decision to stop ·referral contracts for foreign patients in public hospitals.

*93.

Assoc Prof Daniel Gob.


Pei Siong: To ask the Minister for Health (a) how many patients and how much revenue did the referral contracts for foreign patients bring in for the public hospitals duringthe life ofthis practice; and (b) whether this had compromised Singaporeans' priority access to public healthcare resources.

*94.
*94.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what regulatory guidelines or standards are applicable to the chiropractic industry; (b) whether customers of the industry will be able to find recourse from the Ministry when there are disputes; and (c) whether there is any ongoing process to bring the industry under further regulation such as to consider it as part of the Allied Health Professionals under the First Schedule of the Allied Health Professions Act.

No.

85 19 NOVEMBER 2018 15 *95.


Dr Lim Wee Kiak: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) in the past year, how many Singaporeans have enrolled in courses related to eSports; (b) what are the career prospects for those in the eSports industry; and (c) what is the Ministry doing to expand professional opportunities for youths who are interested in the eSports industry.
* 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 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)).

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

MINISTERIAL STATEMENT 1.


Minister for Foreign Affairs: Review of Foreign Policy 2018.

AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF PUBLIC BUSINESS ~ ;"\ Introduction of Government Bills 1.

Prime Minister: Payment Services Bill.

2.

Minister for Transport: Merchant Shipping (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill.

3.

Minister for Foreign Affairs: Chemical Weapons (Prohibition) (Amendment) Bill.

4.

Minister for Home Affairs: Misuse ofDrugs (Amendment) Bill.

No.

85 19NOVEMBER2018 16 5.


Minister for Health: Infectious Diseases (Amendment) Bill.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

1.

ORDERS OF THE DAY Land Transport Authority of Singapore (Amendment) Bill [Bill No.

41/2018] -(Minister for Transport)- Second Reading.

Legal Aid and Advice (Amendment) Bill [Bill No.

42/2018]- (Minister for Law) - Second Reading.

Serious Crimes and Counter-Terrorism (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill [Bill No.

43/20 18] -(Minister for Home Affairs)- Second Reading.
Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill [Bill No.

46/2018]- (Second Minister for Finance)- Second Reading.

Civil Defence and Other Matters Bill [Bill No.

44/2018] -(Minister for Home Affairs) - Second Reading.

Developers (Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing) Bill [Bill No.

45/2018]- (Minister for National Development)- Second Reading.

Employment (Amendment) Bill [Bill No.

47/2018]- (Minister for Manpower) Second Reading.

[For amendments on the Bill, see Supplement No.


14 dated 19 November 20l8.]

QUESTIONS FOR WRITTEN ANSWERS Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Prime Minister (a) how do Singapore's regulations on e-money float compare to those of the major global financial centers; (b) what is the progress on the consultation on "user protection measures in electronic payments"; and (c) how will the Ministry protect consumer interests while ensuring Singapore's competitiveness as an e payments processing hub.

No.
No.

85 19 NOVEMBER 2018 17 2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Miss Cheng Li Hui: To ask the Prime Minister with regard to our total fertility rate (TFR) (a) whether it is a concern that the figure has fallen to 1.16 in 20 17; (b) whether the Government's pronatalist policies have been working; and (c) what further measures are necessary or are being considered by the Government to arrest the decline in TFR and to raise it in the long term.
Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Prime Minister (a) how often does the Public Service Division review the salary structure of the Civil Service; (b) when was the last review conducted; and (c) what are the salary scales for each of the Management Executive pay grades from 2010 to 2017.
Mr Ang Hin Kee: To ask the Minister for Transport in view of the greater adoption of hybrid/electric and autonomous vehicles using automation technology (a) whether Singapore has enough skilled local car mechanics in the pipeline; (b) whether the Ministry will be mapping the skill requirements, job prospects, salary and career progression pathways to upskill our car mechanics; and (c) whether the major employers of car mechanics in Singapore have these initiatives in place.
Mr Ang Bin Kee: To ask the Minister for Transport in light of a recent recall of cars over a fault that can increase crash risks (a) wh2ther LTA conducts extra checks on the reliability of vehicles selected for use on the roads, especially for taxis and private hire vehicles; and (b) beyond emission standards, what other checks are conducted on vehicles used for public transport at the point of registration and subsequent use on the roads.
Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Minister for Transport whether LTA supervises the resurfacing of roads each time contractors have dug holes in the roads to install wires, cables and pipes and, if so, what is the reason for poor re-surfacing of the roads after the works are completed.
Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) what is the current total number of public carpark lots across all terminals of Changi Airport; (b) what is the projected total number of public carpark lots across all terminals after the opening of Jewel Changi Airport; and (c) what is the projected total number of public carpark lots across all terminals after the opening ofTerminalS.
Ms Rab.ayu Mab.zam: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) whether he can provide an update on the plans for the development and opening of the Hume MRT station; and (b) what is the minimum size and density of the residential population before the station can be opened.

No.

85 9.
No.

85 9.

19 NOVEMBER 2018 18 Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Defence (a) what measures are being taken to reduce single-use plastics in National Day Parade (NDP) 2019; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider providing only reusable items with minimal packaging in the NDP 2019 fun pack.

10.
10.

Mr Terence Ho Wee San: To ask the Minister for Defence (a) in view of the recent training accidents, whether the SAF deems the current assistance and compensation as sufficient to the affected family; and (b) how will the army wide safety timeout on training ensure the prevention of such accidents from happening again.

11.
11.

Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for Defence (a) in the last three years, how many cases of Full-Time National Servicemen's medical leave issued by private GPs have been revoked by SAF's in-camp medical officers; (b) what are the main reasons for the revocations; and (c) what are the processes involved prior to the in-camp medical officer's revocation of the medical leave.

12.
12.

Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) in the past one year, how many accidents involving motorcycles, lorries and trailers have occurred on the Causeway; and (b) whether the Ministry is reviewing the need to introduce new measures to prevent traffic accidents at the Causeway.

13.
13.

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs with regard to the recent island-wide operation against heavy vehicle drivers (a) what are the main violations for issuing the summonses; (b) what is the trend of heavy vehicle violations in the past five years; and (c) what is the Ministry's plan to reduce these violations as heavy vehicles can potentially cause greater damage and loss of life on the roads.

14.
14.

Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs what is being done to reduce and prevent fmancial crimes targeting the elderly.

15.
15.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for Law (a) in the past 10 years, how many reports have been lodged by residents that their foreign domestic workers have borrowed from legal and illegal moneylenders respectively; (b) how many such of residents became the victims of harassment from loan sharks or legal money collectors respectively; and (c) whether there are plans to ban borrowings by foreign domestic workers from legal moneylenders.

16.· Assoc ProfDaniel!


Gob Pei Siong: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether the number of Hand Foot Mouth Disease infections are on the uptrend; and (b) whether current efforts to break their transmission need to be improved.

No.

85 17.
No.

85 17.

19 NOVEMBER 2018 19 AssocProfDaniel Gob Pei Siong: To ask the Minister for Health (a) to date, how many people have signed up as Dementia Friends through the Dementia Friends mobile app; and (b) whether the app should be used by concerned members of the wider public who are not specifically trained to help persons with dementia and their families.

18.
18.

Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information whether IMDA will render its service to replace analogue television signal systems with the Digital TV Starter Kit at senior citizen comers located at HDB void decks.

19.
19.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information (a) whether the Digital TV Starter Kit (DSK) redemption programme can be extended to all households including those in private estates; and (b) whether the DSK redemption can be given to households who may have an existing cable TV subscription but who may terminate the subscription at a later stage.

20.
20.

Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Minister for Finance (a) whether the Government allows share ownership by senior management of Temasek Holdings and GIC, whether as direct ownership or usin~ nominee accounts, in companies that the two sovereign wealth funds have mvested in; and (b) how does the Government ensure that these senior management staff do not benefit from insider information.

21.
21.

Ms Anthea Ong: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth whether there is a plan to institute a national volunteer registry that can provide big data for analysis and use across Ministries such as those relating to blood donors, probono legal aid lawyers, grassroots volunteers, police volunteers, and corporate volunteers, and which can also provide a personal volunteer portfolio/journey for citizens and residents.

22.
22.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry with the enhancement ofthe China-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (a) what is the projected increase in the volume and type of trade between the two countries; (b) how is the Ministry helping Singapore companies to leverage on the new opportunities in China; and (c) which are the industries that will be of interest to Singapore companies looking to expand into Central and Western China.

23.
23.

Mr Zainal Sapari: To ask the Minister for National Development whether the income of a foreign spouse who is married to a Singaporean is taken into consideration by HDB in deciding the quantum of housing loan or grant that the applicant would be eligible for.

No.

85 19 NOVEMBER 2018 20 24.


Mr Sitoh Yih Pin: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what has been the number of sellers of residential properties who paid Seller Stamp Duty (SSD) year on year since SSD was implemented; (b) of these numbers, how many of them are Singaporeans who own only one residential property; and (c) whether the Ministry will consider exempting Singaporeans who own only one residential property from SSD.

25.

26.
25.

26.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what is the current take-up rate for the Home Protection Scheme (HPS); (b) whether it can be made compulsory for all HDB home owners with outstanding housing loans to take up HPS regardless of whether they are using their CPF to service the loans; and (c) what is the Ministry doing to create more awareness about the importance ofi-IPS and similar schemes.
Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what is the status of the backlog of unsuccessful applications for two-room BTO flats; (b) how many of these applicants are singles; (c) how many more two room BTO flats will be available in the next three years; and (d) how does the Ministry plan to increase the supply of two-room BTO flats.

27.
Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for National Development whether the Ministry can review the situation facing a number of residents in the landed Eastwood estate off Bedok Road who have seen cracks and structural issues appearing at around the same time, so as to provide them with a single point of contact with a lead agency to assess the issues and advise them, given that the problems could have been caused by works done by different agencies in the vicinity such as PUB's canal-widening project and LTA's MRT tunnelling.
28.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources whether NEA can consider a shorter period of closure for the repairs and renovation carried out for hawker centres so that the hawkers may have better options to continue their operations.

29.
29.

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) how many hawker centres are currently operating 24 hours a day; and (b) in each of the hawker centres which are currently operating 24 hours a day, what is the percentage of the stalls which are actually operating 24 hours a day over the total number of stalls in the respective hawker centres.

30.
30.

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Manpower in respect of the Work Injury Compensation (Workers' Fund) (a) how many applications has the Ministry received so far; (b) how many workers have benefitted from the fund and its payouts since its introduction; and (c) whether there is any plan to increase the awareness of this fund.

No.85 31.
No.85 31.

19 NOVEMBER 2018 21 Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) to date, how many Singaporeans aged 65 and above have made their Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA); and (b) how can the Government better reach out to this group of senior citizens to do an LP A, especially with mental distress being on the rise.

32.
32.

Mr Sitoh Yih Pin: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what is the average cost that Singaporeans have to pay a certificate issuer to make a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA); and (b) whether the Ministry will consider expanding the categories of persons eligible to act as LP A certificate issuers.

33.
33.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development in each of the past five years, what is the median and average monthly income of single unwed parents (i) below 35 years old (ii) betWeen 35 and 36 years old and (iii) 36 years old and above, respectively.

34.

35.
34.

35.

Ms Sylvia~: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development whether he can provide an update on the Government's assessment as to whether to raise the cut-off age for the definition 'of "yqung persott·" in the Children and Young Persons Act from 16 years to 18 yeArs, for consisten£y with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child which Singapore has acceded to.
Miss Cheng Li Hui: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development with regard to the riot at the Singapore Boys' Home (a) what are the measures and precautions in place to detect, pre-empt and deter such incidences from occurring again; (b) what are the standard operating procedures and protocols when mass disturbances occur; and (c) what is the number of disturbances that occurred over the last five years in the Home.

36.

Ms Yip Pin Xiu.


: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what is the current total number of people with physical disabilities, intellectual disabilities, and those who are blind or deaf in Singapore; and (b) whether there has been consideration to share the particulars of this group of people, while maintaining a high level of privacy, to VWOs or organisations that can help with outreach and provide support to this targeted group of people.

No.
No.

85 19 NOVEMBER 2018 22 PAPERS PRESENTED 2018 S.L.

525 Date Presented Building Control (Buildability and Productivity) (Amendment No.

2) Regulations 2018 2 October 2018 S. 400 Legal Service Commission Annual Report 2017 3 October 2018 S.L.

526 Immigration (Amendment) ~ 2018 3 October 2018 Parl.

16 Third Report of Committee the Estimates 10 October 2018 Pres.

Co. 103 Pres.

Co. 104 Pres.


Co. 105 Report of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights on the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Bill [Bill No 32/2018] Report of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights on the Supreme Court of Judicature (Amendment No.

2) Bill [Bill No 33/2018] Report of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights on the Parliamentary Elections (Amendment) Bill [Bill No 34/2018] Pres.
Co. 106 Report of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights on the Electricity (Amendment) Bill [Bill No 35/2018] Pres.

Co. 107 Report of the Presidential Council for the Gas Minority Rights (Amendment) Bill [Bill No 36/2018] on 10 October 2018 10 October 2018 10 October 2018 10 October 2018 10 October 2018 No.

85 19 NOVEMBER 2018 23 PAPERS PRESENTED- continued Date Presented 2018 Pres.

Co. 108 Pres.

Co. 109 Pres.
Co. 110 Report of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights on the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment (Amendment) Bill [Bill No 38/2018] Report of the Presidential Council for Minority the Rights Environmental Health (Amendment) Bill [Bill No 39/2018] Public on Report of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights on the Variable Capital Companies Bill [Bill No 40/2018] S. 401 The People's Association Annual Consolidated Report (Annual Financial Statements) 2017/2018 S.L.
527 Planning (Amendment No.2) Rules 2018 (Development Charges) S.L.

528 Medishield Scheme (Amendment No.

3) Regulations 2018 Life S.L.

529 S.L.

530 (Sanctions United Nations Democratic People's Republic of Korea) 2) Regulations 2018 (Amendment No.

Profession in (Foreign Legal Representation Singapore International Commercial Court) (Amendment) Rules 2018 S.L.

531 Rules of Court (Amendment No.


3) Rules 2018 10 October 2018 1 0 October 2018 10 October 2018 11 October 2018 16 October 2018 2 November 2018 2 November 2018 2 November 2018 2 November 2018 No.

85 19 NOVEMBER 2018 24 PAPERS PRESENTED- continued 2018 S.L.

532 Date Presented Procedure Criminal Code (Amendment of Second Schedule) Order 2018 2 November 2018 S.L.

533 Criminal Procedure Rules 2018 2 November 2018 S.L.
534 Central Provident Fund (Dependants' Protection Scheme) Insurance (Amendment) Regulations 2018 S.L.

535 Central Provident Fund (Medisave Account Withdrawals) (Amendment No.3) Regulations 2018 5 November 2018 · 7November 2018 S.L.

536 Electricity (Contestable Consumers) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 9 November 2018 S. 402 Commissioner of Charities Annual Report2017 12 November 2018 S.L.

537 Bus Services Industry (Bus Service Licence) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 S.L.
538 Road Traffic (Electronic Road Pricing System) (Amendment No.

2) Rules 2018 12 November 2018 16 November 2018