Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698846180181.pdf (Singapore)
FOURTEENTH PARLIAMENT OF SINGAPORE ___________________ FIRST SESSION ___________________ ORDER PAPER WEDNESDAY, 4 NOVEMBER 2020 No.

13 1.00 pm 1 QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWERS* *1.

Dr Wan Rizal: To ask the Minister for Education what is the current percentage of children who enter Primary 1 without completing at least three years of preschool (including nursery, kindergarten 1 and kindergarten 2).

*2.
*2.

Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs what are the criteria and process to prefer charges for capital offences.

*3.
*3.

Miss Cheng Li Hui: To ask the Minister for Health regarding the possible Phase 3 opening by end-December 2020 (a) what factors are taken into account when deciding on the maximum number of people allowed for gatherings, weddings and other events; (b) what will be the safeguards and measures in place to ensure compliance when more activities resume on a larger scale; and (c) what plans are in place should there be a spike of COVID-19 cases in Phase 3 and whether that includes reversion to Phase 2.

*4.
*4.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Prime Minister (a) whether the TraceTogether tokens have been distributed to all seniors; and (b) how does the Smart Nation and Digital Government Office ensure that citizens without smart phones and who have not been able to collect the TraceTogether token are able to access cinemas.

*5.
*5.

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) in the past five years, what is the annual number of neighbour-dispute cases received by HDB; and (b) whether there has been an increase in such dispute cases due to the COVID-19 pandemic and telecommuting work arrangements.

No.

13 4 NOVEMBER 2020 2 *6.

Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth when will a timeline on the review of the Community Dispute Management Framework be made available.

*7.
*7.

*8.

Dr Wan Rizal: To ask the Minister for Manpower what measures the Ministry has taken in ensuring emotional and mental health wellness in workplaces.

Dr Wan Rizal: To ask the Minister for Health whether there are plans to include mental health services in the polyclinics to be open to walk-ins, rather than through referrals or on an appointment basis, to reduce treatment delay of mental healthcare in the community.

*9.
*9.

Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs since the decriminalisation of suicide in 2019 (a) how many cases of suicide have been recorded; (b) in how many cases of attempted suicide have the police and SCDF intervened to help such persons as part of the safeguards put in place upon the abolishment of the criminal offence of attempting suicide; and (c) how has the decriminalisation of attempted suicide improved the situation for persons tempted to commit suicide.

*10.
*10.

Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin: To ask the Minister for National Development whether there are plans to look into the carrying capacity of our green and blue spaces and how trash can be better managed on our Southern Islands given that more Singaporeans have been visiting these nature parks.

*11.
*11.

Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment with regard to the "30 by 30" goal to secure Singapore's food needs (a) how many HDB rooftop farming sites does SFA intend to set up in the next ten years; (b) what is the expected yield from these sites; and (c) whether SFA will consider incorporating in the tenders for these sites a requirement to engage the community as well.

*12.
*12.

Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) how often do NEA and SFA conduct checks on the hygiene of food stalls and catering licensees; (b) whether these have been affected by the circuit breaker measures; and (c) what steps are taken to work with food stall licensees to improve cleanliness and hygiene standards when such stalls are faced with licence suspensions.

*13.
Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether flexibility may be exercised to extend the Self-Employed Income Relief Scheme (SIRS) to Singapore citizens who originally ran businesses as self-employed persons but later injected their businesses into companies incorporated by them with no employees; and (b) if not, what other schemes may be extended to this group of Singaporeans who are affected by the economic downturn brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic but who do not receive the benefit of SIRS, Jobs Support Scheme or COVID-19 Support Grant.
No.

13 4 NOVEMBER 2020 3 *14.
Mr Sharael Taha: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether the Ministry is reviewing the eligibility criteria for the distribution of grants based on per capita income per household whereby the 'household' is defined by unique address; and (b) whether the Ministry is considering alternative ways of distributing support grants that can account for breadwinners supporting family members beyond the immediate household so that the sandwiched generation can be assisted through these difficult times.
*15.

Ms Yeo Wan Ling: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development whether HDB will consider extending the grace period of free parking to 30 minutes for appointed private vehicles escorting or ferrying persons with disabilities from their homes to a medical facility and back.

*16.
*16.

Mr Sharael Taha: To ask the Minister for Education (a) what is the number of primary and secondary school students who still do not have access to digital devices to do home-based learning (HBL); and (b) what are the available schemes to ensure that children from less fortunate families have sufficient access to digital devices to do HBL.

*17.
*17.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for Education (a) in the past five years, how many students, from primary school to undergraduates, have made the request for the provision of personal computers to enable online learning; (b) whether there are students who have financial difficulties and network connections to undertake online learning; and (c) what measures have been taken to ensure that students' accessibility to online learning is made available to children of vulnerable families.

*18.
*18.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry with the setting up of Singapore's first car-making plant (a) how many jobs will be created by this venture; and (b) how does the Ministry plan to grow the electric and autonomous driving industries in the longer term.

*19.
*19.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether demand for HDB rental flats has increased since the circuit breaker started on 7 April 2020 as compared to the corresponding period last year; (b) if so, what is the percentage increase; and (c) whether HDB will consider increasing the supply of rental flats available in response to the economic difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

*20.
*20.

Ms Yeo Wan Ling: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) in the past 12 months, how many rental or temporary housing have been offered for individuals undergoing divorce proceedings or a division of matrimonial assets; and (b) whether HDB will consider a structured scheme to allow access to temporary housing or rental flats to individuals in such circumstances.

No.

13 4 NOVEMBER 2020 4 *21.


Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Health whether the Co- Funding for Assisted Conception Procedures (ACP) scheme can be extended to private Assisted Reproduction (AR) centres.

*22.
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance between 2000 to 2020 (a) how many property owners have been taxed with non-owner-occupier property tax rates when they were in fact residing in their own homes; (b) what is the total amount of excess tax paid; (c) why is it necessary for a property owner to declare that he is the owner occupying the property in order to enjoy owner-occupier tax rates instead of these rates being applied by default; and (d) whether IRAS will refund property owners the excess tax paid, even if the incorrect tax rates were discovered after they had moved out of their properties.
*23.

Ms Carrie Tan: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) what public education efforts has the Ministry undertaken to educate pedestrians and other users of public paths on the pedestrian code of conduct which enforcement has started in August 2020; and (b) whether footpath ambassadors will be deployed to increase public knowledge of the code of conduct in order to prevent rider-pedestrian accidents.

*24.
*24.

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Manpower between July and October 2020, whether the number of workplace accidents and workplace injuries have increased as more workers begin to return to their workplaces.

*25.
*25.

Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) how many foreign domestic workers (FDWs) and what proportion have tested positive for COVID-19; (b) what is the estimated prevalence of COVID-19 among FDWs; and (c) what precautions are in place to (i) minimise FDWs' exposure to COVID-19 and (ii) protect FDWs from becoming carriers of COVID-19, whether as newly arrived FDWs or as in-Singapore transfer FDWs.

*26.
*26.

Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) in the past three years, how many QR code scams have been reported; (b) how are the authorities stepping up on action against such crimes; and (c) what are the Ministry's efforts to increase awareness of QR code scams, in particular among the seniors.

*27.
*27.

Mr Ang Wei Neng: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information under the Hawkers Go Digital programme, what is the total amount of incentives disbursed to date to the hawkers who have adopted digital payment.

*28.

Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: To ask the Minister for Transport whether there are plans to mandate the provision of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the car parks of public and private residential properties.

No.

13 4 NOVEMBER 2020 5 *29.
Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) what criteria or key performance indicators are used to assess whether the functions of the Mayors and Community Development Councils (CDCs) have been successfully achieved; (b) in the past three years, what is the combined total expenditure of the CDCs; (c) what is the percentage breakdown of how such expenditures are allocated; (d) how many unique schemes have been rolled out by the Mayors and CDCs in the past five years as distinct from schemes administered by the Government and what are these schemes; and (e) what efforts are adopted to ensure co-ordination between financial assistance schemes offered by the CDCs, Comcare and other support schemes provided by the Government.
*30.

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) why online applications for the COVID-19 Support Grant can only be submitted between 9am to 6pm; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider allowing online application 24 hours a day, except for periodic maintenance windows.

*31.
*31.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Indonesia's Omnibus Law will have environmental implications for Singapore, specifically on the issue of transboundary haze; and (b) whether the law affects Singapore's strategy in dealing with potential haze problems.

(a) whether *32.
(a) whether *32.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Education with regard to the performance management system of stack ranking (a) what is the quota for each of the grades A, B, C+, C, C-, D and E for teachers respectively; and (b) for each year in the past five years, what is the number of teachers who have gotten an A, B, C+, C, C-, D and E grade respectively.

*33.
*33.

Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development how many seniors have been placed under Adult Protective Services since the scheme began and what efforts are made to work with the families of such seniors to make them more care-ready.

*34.
Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) what is the progress of work by the Fair Tenancy Pro Tem Committee; (b) how can the Government help facilitate a win-win partnership between tenants and their landlords to strengthen collaboration and increase the vibrancy and competitiveness of Singapore's retail, food and beverage, and lifestyle sectors; and (c) whether the Government is considering a regulatory and compliance framework as a tool to support a fair code of conduct.
No.

13 4 NOVEMBER 2020 6 *35.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether the Ministry will consider banning the use of electric shock collars and prong collars in animal training; (b) if so, what is the timeline for implementing the ban; and (c) if not why not.

* 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 Motion 1.
Leader of the House: SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDERS: That notwithstanding the Standing Orders: (a) the Minister for Home Affairs and Law may, in his statement on the Parti Liyani case, give Parliament a full account of the conduct of the police officers and prosecutors involved in that case, and clarifications may be sought and given on the account given by the Minister; and (b) Members may refer to and discuss the account given by the Minister when the motion standing in the name of Ms Sylvia Lim is under consideration by Parliament.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT 1.

Minister for Law and Home Affairs: Review of the Case of Parti Liyani v Public Prosecutor [2020] SGHC 187.

No.

13 4 NOVEMBER 2020 7 NOTICE OF MOTION 1.


Ms Sylvia Lim (Aljunied) Ms He Ting Ru (Sengkang): SINGAPORE'S JUSTICE SYSTEM: That this House affirms that fairness, access and independence are cornerstones of Singapore's justice system and calls on the Government to recognise and remedy its shortcomings in order to enhance justice for all, regardless of means or social status, including facilitating a review of the justice system.

2 4 QUESTIONS FOR WRITTEN ANSWER 1.
Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance in light of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on incomes in 2020, whether the Government will consider (i) using Singaporean citizens' CPF contribution history in 2020 as an alternative criteria to the current criteria of income earned in 2018, annual value of home, and HDB flat type to determine their eligibility for GST Vouchers and (ii) allowing self- employed persons who are not mandatorily subject to the CPF contribution scheme and who are receiving no or low income in 2020 to receive GST vouchers through reporting their income in 2020.
2.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) whether cleaning companies under the Enhanced Clean Mark Accreditation scheme will be required to provide cleaners (whether foreign or local) mandated rest days every month without reducing their take-home salary; (b) if so what is the timeline for implementing this; and (c) if not why not.

3.
3.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what is the current average waiting time for children who are differently abled to be enrolled in the Early Intervention Programme for Infants and Children (EIPIC) upon application; and (b) what are the recommended teacher to child ratios for (i) EIPIC and (ii) preschools who are managing these children.

Note: Order of business in this Order Paper has been varied pursuant to SO 10(1A).