Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698846990724.pdf (Singapore)
FOURTEENTH PARLIAMENT OF SINGAPORE ___________________ FIRST SESSION ___________________ ORDER PAPER TUESDAY, 27 JULY 2021 No.

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QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER* Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) how does the Ministry ensure safe distancing measures are being enforced onboard trains and public buses; and (b) what are the standing instructions for public transport operators for managing commuter volume during Phase Three (Heightened Alert) especially during peak hours.
Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Manpower in view of the winding down of the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) in September 2021 (a) whether there will be an increase in retrenchment and unemployment, especially in the aviation, aerospace and hospitality sectors; and (b) how will the Ministry support the companies and workers in these sectors which have limited scope for recovery in the near term.
Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) whether he can provide an update on industry transformation plans for the marine and the Industry offshore engineering (M&OE) sector; and (b) whether Transformation Maps and related policy reviews have considered what opportunities may exist in offshore carrier transport of hydrogen.
Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) whether the Ministry has done any assessment of the low-carbon hydrogen sector; (b) if so, what is the current state of the art for hydrogen transportation by carrier; (c) at what point will carrier-transported hydrogen become commercially viable; (d) what is Singapore's potential to be a hydrogen hub; and (e) whether moving ahead of market shifts may be considered as a strategy.

No.

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27 JULY 2021 2 Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) whether he can provide an update on the current state of carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS); (b) what are the respective conservative and optimistic assessments of potential CCUS technological advancements in the next decade; and (c) what role can incentives play to improve CCUS commercial viability for purposes of deployment in the petrochemicals sector.
Ms Foo Mee Har: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether the Ministry can quantify the current extent of Singapore’s reliance on Filipino nurses; and (b) what is the impact on the Singapore healthcare system by Philippines’ move to suspend permits for nurses to work overseas.
Ms Tin Pei Ling: To ask the Minister for National Development whether the proportion of units under the Married Child Priority Scheme can be increased for HDB's BTO projects within mature estates to facilitate inter-generational familial support.
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) what are the top three ways by which the Ministry is alerted to potential kickback offences; (b) what are the respective percentages of cases that are reported via each of the top three ways by which the Ministry is alerted to kickback offences; and (c) how is the Ministry strengthening efforts to get workers to report kickback offences.
Mr Shawn Huang Wei Zhong: To ask the Minister for Transport what are the plans for a zero emissions transportation system in the new Jurong Innovation District and the existing Jurong industrial areas.

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Ms Tin Pei Ling: To ask the Minister for Manpower to what extent should an employer be made responsible for a migrant domestic worker's medical fee in Singapore if the treatment needed is a consequence of the worker's own social activity during her personal off-time and on her own free will and the medical fee quantum far exceeds the insurance limits.

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Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry: To ask the Minister for Manpower whether the Government can strongly encourage all organisations related to the Government, Ministries and Statutory Boards outside of the public service that receive significant direct or indirect Government funding, to raise their re- employment age limit to 68 years with immediate effect.

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Mr Shawn Huang Wei Zhong: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) what are adoption rates of electric passenger vehicles over the past year; (b) what are the projected rates for 2022 and 2023; (c) whether the build-up of electric charging infrastructure at public and private spaces are on track to support the increase in adoption rates; and (d) whether there are considerations to bring forward the implementation timeline for clean energy buses.

No.

34 27 JULY 2021 3 *13.


Ms Foo Mee Har: To ask the Minister for Manpower with increasing number of Singaporeans in PMET jobs, whether CPF Life will be updated to allow the option for more voluntary savings under the CPF scheme to provide for retirement payouts closer to PMETs' pre-retirement income.

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Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry will consider increasing the minimum amount of annual leave entitlement.

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Dr Wan Rizal: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs (a) whether he can provide an update on the Singapore Islamic College and its tie-in with the Postgraduate Certificate in Islam in Contemporary Societies (PCICS) programme, including its take- up rate and efficacy; and (b) whether any changes will be made to the PCICS programme in terms of (i) duration (ii) content and (iii) accessibility.

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Ms Yeo Wan Ling: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) in the last 12 months, whether there has been an increase in reports from theft victims of their belongings being sold in secondhand shops and pawn shops; (b) whether there are regulations imposed on secondhand shops and pawn shops on checks needed when accepting these items brought to them; and (c) what is the recourse for victims in claiming back these items when the items are proven to be stolen.

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Mr Seah Kian Peng: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development in the last five years, what has been the annual number of single unwed mothers.

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Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what is the average waiting time for mature estate BTO flat applications for first- and second-timers, as well as other applicants who have failed balloting more than twice; and (b) what are the mean, modal and median number of attempts for non-mature estate BTO flat applications.

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Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether the ballot system for HDB’s BTO flats automatically factors in applicants’ eligibility for priority schemes or flags out the schemes which they qualify for, so applicants need not apply themselves; (b) whether the eligible party has to make a new application and submit the relevant documents for every new balloting exercise; and (c) how long do eligible parties have to wait on average for their applications to be approved.

No.
No.

34 27 JULY 2021 4 *20.
Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Finance in light of the Public Sector Sustainability Plan and its aim to conserve limited resources (a) whether Government agencies track the time period for which physical items can be reasonably used and the time period during which such items are in fact used; (b) what percentage of physical items are estimated to be underused; (c) what percentage of items that are unused or no longer used are (i) sold (ii) given away or (iii) disposed of; and (d) what steps are taken to reduce wastage created by underused and unused items.
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Dr Wan Rizal: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether, under the Ministry’s new Child and Maternal Health and Well-being Strategy, mental health screening and support for new and expectant mothers can be made a mandatory part of pregnancy health check-ups in the public and private sectors; and (b) whether support can also be extended to fathers, especially for mothers experiencing post-partum depression.

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Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Education (a) since the COVID-19 pandemic started, how many students have been reported to have committed suicide, attempted suicide or suffered from mental health issues; (b) whether the numbers suggest an uptick from the corresponding numbers before the pandemic; (c) what are the contributory factors to the current state of affairs; and (d) what steps are being or will be taken by his Ministry to improve the mental resilience of our students.

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Dr Wan Rizal: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what is the current number of Singaporeans and permanent residents with psychotic disorders; (b) what is the breakdown according to occupations; and (c) what are the plans to protect them from being attacked or harassed on social media in our effort to end public stigmatisation.

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Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what is the take-up rate for the Community Health Assessment Team's (CHAT) services since the pandemic began; (b) whether the CHAT experience can be applied to mental health care for the wider community; (c) what is the number of referrals generated by the community mental health outreach teams set up by the Agency for Integrated Care together with community service partners in 2020; and (d) what is the strategy to ensure that older Singaporeans are accessing the mental health care they need.
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Ms Raeesah Khan: To ask the Minister for National Development in light of the findings in the Census of Population 2020, what are the reasons for the large number of Malays moving to three-room or smaller flats.

No.

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Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs whether persons whose bank accounts are frozen as a result of being recipients of monies from alleged suspects of scamming offences for reasons such as payment of goods and services or other bona fide transactions may be allowed access to their bank accounts for reasonable living expenses or existing legitimate GIRO payment obligations.
* 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.
AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF PUBLIC BUSINESS Business Motions 1.

Leader of the House: [Subject to the consent of Speaker and general assent of Members present] PROCEEDINGS ON 27 JULY 2021: That, notwithstanding the Standing Orders, the Ministerial Statement on River Valley High School Incident and the proceedings on items 3 and 4 on the Order Paper for today be taken before the consideration of the Supplementary Estimates in the Committee of Supply at this day’s sitting.

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Leader of the House: [Subject to the consent of Speaker and general assent of Members present] SIMULTANEOUS DEBATE ON MOTIONS: That, notwithstanding the Standing Orders, the motions on “Support Measures for Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) And Phase 3 (Heightened Alert)” and “Support Measures for Phase 2 (Heightened Alert)” be taken jointly and the debate on these motions be proceeded with simultaneously as though the debate were on a single motion.

No.

34 27 JULY 2021 6 1.

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ORDERS OF THE DAY Supplementary Estimates of Expenditure for the financial year 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022 (Paper Cmd.

7 of 2021) – Committee of Supply (Allotted Day).

[For amendments to be moved in the Committee of Supply, see Supplement No.

4 dated 27 July 2021.]

Supplementary Supply and Budget Adjustments (FY 2021) Bill [Bill No.

19/2021] – (Minister for Finance) – Second Reading.
SUPPORT MEASURES FOR PHASE 2 (HEIGHTENED ALERT) AND PHASE 3 (HEIGHTENED ALERT): Resumption of Debate on Question (5 July 2021), “That the Ministerial Statement made by the Minister for Finance on the Support Measures for Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) and Phase 3 (Heightened Alert) be considered by Parliament.” – (Minister for Finance).
SUPPORT MEASURES FOR PHASE 2 (HEIGHTENED ALERT): Resumption of Debate on Question (26 July 2021), “That the Ministerial Statement made by the Minister for Finance on the Support Measures for Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) be considered by Parliament.” – (Minister for Finance).

MINISTERIAL STATEMENT 1.

Minister for Education: River Valley High School Incident.

MEMORANDUM Matter proposed to be raised on the Motion for the Adjournment (SO 2(8)(b)).
Mr Murali Pillai (Bukit Batok) : Feasibility of Setting Up a Judicial Service Commission for Judicial Officers.

No.

34 27 JULY 2021 7 1.

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QUESTIONS FOR WRITTEN ANSWER Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Prime Minister whether MAS will require digital full banks to provide basic banking accounts and other financial services to unbanked and underbanked Singaporean adults so as to enhance their financial inclusion.
Dr Lim Wee Kiak: To ask the Prime Minister (a) how does the Government ensure that there is data security when Singapore companies go for listings on overseas stock exchanges; (b) whether the Government will review the data security risk for all Singapore companies currently listed abroad; and (c) whether Singapore-based companies need prior approval before listing overseas.
Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) what is the current progress on the construction and operation of the Tuas Mega Port; and (b) what are the strategic adjustments made in view of potential realignment and reorganisation of supply chains for post-COVID-19.
Mr Shawn Huang Wei Zhong: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) how is water quality within our territorial waters monitored; (b) how is illegal discharge of waste and hazardous materials detected from transiting and parked ships in our anchorages; (c) how is a slow discharge of such waste detected; and (d) what are the enforcement actions and penalties.
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) for each year in the past five years, what is the average and median number of years a fresh graduate social worker remains in employment as a social worker without any change in profession; and (b) if such data is not being collected, whether the Ministry will start collecting it.
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) for each year in the past five years, what is the number and percentage of social workers who apply for the Sabbatical Leave Scheme; and (b) if such data is not being collected, whether the Ministry will start collecting it.
Mr Shawn Huang Wei Zhong: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information (a) in 2019 and 2020, what has been the total carbon emissions by data centres located in Singapore; (b) what is the expected data centre emissions for 2021; (c) what is the energy efficiency of data centres located in Singapore compared to those in the located in the region; and (d) whether there are plans to further reduce the emissions for data centres in Singapore.

No.

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27 JULY 2021 8 Mr Shawn Huang Wei Zhong: To ask the Minister for National Development given that concrete is one of the largest emitters of CO2, (a) how much concrete is consumed in Singapore for the last five years; (b) what is the projected consumption of concrete till 2025; (c) whether there are plans to reduce concrete usage with better structural designs and use of natural materials; and (d) whether the Ministry will consider a framework for a needs- only basis for the use of concrete for essential structural and load-bearing requirements.
Ms Tin Pei Ling: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what is the current average waiting time to complete Goodwill Repair Assistance cases; (b) what factors affect the waiting time; and (c) how can the process be expedited.

Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for National Development what is the current number and proportion of HDB flats that have multi-step main entrances, broken down by decade of construction.
Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth whether he can provide an update on the suggestion made in the House on 8 March 2017 that the President of Singapore issues congratulatory notes to Singapore centenarians on the occasion of their birthdays.
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the recent announcement on the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) for cleaners applies to cleaners who are (i) hired directly by an F&B establishment (ii) not employed by a licensed cleaning company and (iii) who are employed on a part-time basis respectively; and (b) if not, why not.
Mr Don Wee: To ask the Minister for Manpower with regard to the COVID- 19 cluster involving social hostesses (a) how many foreign hostesses are there currently; (b) how many are on work passes and how many are here on social visit passes; and (c) what measures are there to minimise the health risks posed by the nature of their interactions.
Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) for each year in the past three years, how many working-age Singaporeans started dialysis, broken down by (i) haemodialysis and (ii) peritoneal dialysis; (b) how many of these Singaporeans are in employment (i) one year before starting dialysis (ii) at the time of starting dialysis and (iii) one year after starting dialysis; and (c) for these Singaporeans who stopped employment, whether the Ministry is aware of what the reasons are.

No.
No.

34 27 JULY 2021 9 PAPER PRESENTED 2021 Cmd.

9 Date Presented Budget Adjustments to Estimates of Expenditure and the Revised Estimates of Revenue for the Financial Year 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022 ..... 26 July 2021