Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698846417887.pdf (Singapore)
THIRTEENTH PARLIAMENT OF SINGAPORE FIRST SESSION ORDER PAPER ,i MONDAY, 20 FEBRUARY 2017 I 1- I No.

34 1.30 pm QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER* *1.


Assoc Prof Daniel Gob Pei Siong: To ask the Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) whether the SkillsFuture Earn and Learn Programme can be extended to (i) university education and (ii) workers who wish to study for a first or second degree in order to switch careers and specialise in a different field, so as to address the growing skills mismatch in the labour market.

*2.
*2.

Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry: To ask the Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) (a) whether there are immediate plans for Government sponsored universities to increase enrolment for graduate and post-graduate programmes so as to increase educational opportunities for acquiring deep skills; and (b) if so, which are the key graduate and post-graduate programmes that will see increased enrolments.

*3.
*3.

Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether there is any link between body tattoos and identification with criminal gangs; (b) how many tattoo shops have opened over the past five years; and (c) whether the Ministry will regulate the industry and impose a minimum age for any person who wants to put a tattoo on his/her body.

*4.
*4.

Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs what are the guidelines and monitoring mechanisms in place pertaining to the large congregations of persons, especially over the weekends and holidays, in the vicinity ofPaya Lebar and Tanjong Katong Complex.

No.

34 20 FEBRUARY 2017 2 *5.
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) how many residents have complained about the free-ranging chickens at Sin Ming; (b) what percentage of residents living around Thomson View and Blocks 452 to 454 Sin Ming A venue have complained about the chickens; (c) whether AVA has considered asking people to adopt the chickens or other more humane alternatives; and (d) whether AVA will set a threshold in terms of the number of complains and complainants before culling other chickens or animals.
*6.

*7.

Assoc Prof Daniel Gob Pei Siong: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) at which point does AVA decide to cull populations of wildlife in an area due to public complaints; (b) whether the AVA consults and communicates with residents living with the wildlife in their midst, wildlife experts and other stakeholders in making the decision; and (c) how does AVA ensure that the culling does not affect similar but endangered or indigenous species ofwildlife.
Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) how many bird-related complaints have been received in the past three years; (b) what is being done to solve the problem of birds invading hawker centres to feed on leftover food; and (c) what is the Ministry doing to curb the bird population in the heartland estates.

*8.
*8.

Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling: To ask the Minister for Health in light of efforts to encourage Singaporeans to seek primary healthcare services at polyclinics and family clinics (a) what is the current proportion of patients visiting general practitioners (GPs) within their neighbourhood or their family doctors; and (b) what has been the referral rate of cases from GPs to specialists.

*9.
*9.

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Health what efforts have been taken to reach out to and include persons with disabilities and/or special needs in past and ongoing health and screening campaigns.

*10.
*10.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry will consider requiring immediate reporting by doctors to the Ministry of work injuries that require 24 or more hours of hospitalisation or when three or more days of medical leave is required, considering that the current system relying on employers to report voluntarily may lead to the under-reporting of injuries.

No.

34 20 FEBRUARY 2017 3 *11.


Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) how has the community volunteer scheme helped in reducing cases of littering in public; (b) how many litter bugs booked last year have arisen from public tip-offs; and (c) whether the reporting of litter bugs will be made easier for the public to assist NEA.

*12.
*12.

Mr Gao Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for Transport whether the Ministry will review and control the number of vehicles that can be used for private vehicle hire in addition to the vocational licence requirement for such car drivers.

*13.

Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for Transport whether LTA.
will consider supplementing the existing timer-controlled street lamp infrastructure with ambient light sensors so that public roads can be better illuminated during heavy rainstorms and similar situations of low daytime visibility.

*14.
*14.

Miss Cheng Li Hui: To ask the Minister for Finance (a) what is the expected impact of automation on our Civil Service in the next five years; (b) what has been the progress of automation in our Ministries, statutory boards and Government agencies so far; and (b) what is the estimated increase in productivity.

*15.
*15.

Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Prime Minister what are the measures that MAS takes to ensure that the Automated Teller Machines (A TMs) oflocal banks are fully inter-operable to enable cash withdrawals and bank transactions to be more accessible to the elderly and those with mobility needs.

*16.
*16.

Ms Chia Yong Yong: To ask the Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) (a) what is the rationale for annotating examination certificates to indicate that examination accommodation has been given; (b) whether he can assure the House that such annotation will not result in discrimination against the student in future studies and/or future employment; and (c) whether it is now time to remove such annotations.

*17.
*17.

Mr Chong Kee Hiong: To ask the Minister for National Development what technological improvements in engineering and material sciences have been incorporated into the building of our HDB flats in recent years to ensure enhanced structural integrity, higher noise insulation, improved ventilation and heat reduction.

No.

34 20 FEBRUARY 2017 4 *18.


Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what impact did algae blooms and the recent oil spill have on AVA's target for locally farmed fish to comprise 15% of local fish consumption; (b) what measures are taken to help coastal fish farmers cope with the aftermath of these events; and (c) what measures are taken to help fish farmers change their production methods so that they are more efficient and less susceptible to algae blooms and oil spills.
*19.

Assoc Prof Daniel Gob Pei Siong: To ask the Minister for Defence whether there are any plans in the commemoration of the 50th anniversary ofNational Service to honour women for the sacrifices they have made as mothers and wives of Singaporean men who have served national service.

*20.
*20.

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Defence (a) whether the Ministry has determined (i) how the used SAF uniforms came into the possession of the smugglers who were caught unloading them near Batam in November 2016 and (ii) the motive for smuggling the uniforms to Batam; and (b) how does the Ministry intend to prevent such incidents from happening again.

*21.
*21.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) for each year in the past three years, how many cases of illegal wildlife trade have been detected at our border checkpoints and within Singapore (past the border checkpoints) respectively; (b) from these cases, how many live animals have been confiscated annually at our border checkpoints and within Singapore (past the border checkpoints) respectively; and (c) how many of these animals currently remain under our care.

*22.
*22.

Mr Darryl David: To ask the Minister for National Development whether the indiscriminate pasting of bills, flyers, Government can prohibit the advertisements and other similar materials at public places in HDB estates such as lifts, lift landings, doors, gates, circuit-boxes and other areas, in line with that taken by agencies such as the L T A in respect of the sticking of materials on lamp posts, traffic-light posts, railings and other public areas under its jurisdiction.

*23.
*23.

Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth for FY2015/16 what is (i) the amount of income earned by grassroots organisations (GROs) from community trade fairs (ii) the percentage of the earned income used by GROs for welfare assistance, scholarships and bursaries and (iii) the amount of sponsorships in kinds and cash collected by the GROs for staging community events.

No.

34 20 FEBRUARY 2017 5 *24.


Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) (a) what are some of our recent commercial investments with Australia; and (b) whether the Government intends to strengtpen engagements with key Australian state governments with the objective of promoting bilateral business, trade and investment.

*25.
*25.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information what criteria are used to determine the selection of falsehoods corrected on the Gov Factually website.

*26.
*26.

Ms Tin Pei Ling: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what is the Ministry's plan to fix new lifts that continue to break down despite a re commissioning exercise; and (b) whether the expected increase in maintenance and repair cost over a "lemon" lift's shelf life due to the frequent breakdowns is less than the replacement cost.

*27.
*27.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources whether the Ministry will consider conducting a study to quantifY the savings in healthcare costs that can be obtained from various possible levels of incremental improvements in air quality in the short, mid and long term.

*28.
*28.

Miss Cheng Li Hui: To ask the Minister for Health (a) how has the progress of automation in our hospitals been in the last three years; (b) how prevalent is the use of robotics; and (c) what is the estimated increase in productivity.

*29.
*29.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what has been the impact of the Government's anti-smoking campaign over the past three years; (b) how many smokers have given up smoking during this period; (c) how has the campaign prevented young people from taking up the habit; and (d) whether the Ministry has plans to increase the minimum age for buying cigarettes.

*30.
*30.

Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry: To ask the Minister for Education (Schools) in view of Cambridge International Examinations' discontinuation of the Angus Ross Prize for English literature, whether the Ministry can set up (i) an equivalent A-level literature prize for Singapore and (ii) corresponding A-level literature prizes for mother tongue languages of Malay, Chinese and Tamil.

.I * Members may postpone their Questions to a later sitting day iftheir Questions are not reached by the end of Question Time.
The postponement forms are available at the Chamber entrances.

To ensure timely notice of such postponements, Members should submit their notices to the Clerk by 4.00 pm.

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

No.

34 20 FEBRUARY 2017 6 NOTICES OF MOTIONS 1.

Minister, Prime Minister's Office: STANDING ORDERS COMMITTEE: That the Standing Orders Committee appointed under paragraph 4(a) of Standing Order No.
100 do consider and report on such amendments to the Standing Orders of Parliament which the Committee may deem necessary.

2.

Minister for Finance: BUDGET STATEMENT: That Parliament approves the financial policy of the Government for the financial year 1st April 2017 to 31st March 2018.

1.

2.

3.

4.
1.

2.

3.

4.

QUESTIONS FOR WRITTEN ANSWER Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Prime Minister (a) to date, what is the total increase in the number of eligible electorates since last general election; (b) which is the electoral division that has the highest number of increase; and (c) what is the projected increase in the number of eligible electorates in three years' time.
Ms Foo Mee Har: To ask the Prime Minister (a) what studies or research have been conducted to understand the impact of various pro-family measures such as baby bonus and faster access to BDB flats, on raising fertility rates; and (b) how will the findings guide implementation of future Government interventions.

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Manpower whether he can provide a breakdown of the current number of foreign domestic workers in Singapore from each ofthe 13 source countries.
Mr Chen Show Mao: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether victims of sex crimes are required to make a police report before they can get a forensic medical examination done and, if so, why; and (b) whether this examination is only available at three hospitals in Singapore and, if so, why is this not more widely available.

!

I I No.

34 20 FEBRUARY 2017 7 5.

6.

7.

8.

9.


Ms Tin Pei Ling: To ask the Minister for Law (a) over the past 12 months, how many community dispute applications have been received by the Community Disputes Resolution Tribunals; (b) ofthese, how many have been (i) accepted by the tribunals (ii) successfully resolved and (iii) gi~en orders for one of the parties to receive a mental health assessment.
Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling: To ask the Minister for Culture," Community andY outh (a) whether there are any development plans for the Bedok Stadium and Bedok Sports Complex; and (b) if there are none, whether the running tracks within Bedok Stadium will be upgraded as their current condition poses safety concerns for users.
Ms Foo Mee Har: To ask the Minister for National Development what is the number, size and location of Government properties and facilities that are currently vacant or unused, including schools, institutes, factories and industrial facilities.
Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether there are updates on new and innovative technologies that can offer HDB residents, whose units are located in infrastructurally challenging positions, the lift access to their dwelling units; and (b) what is the proportion of such units within our HDB catchment.
Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what proportion of first-time applicants for HDB BTO flats have not succeeded in getting a unit after balloting for five times or more in the recent years; and (b) what are the main reasons for the unsuccessful attempts.

10.
10.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources whether the Ministry can clarify what is (i) the contamination rate of recyclables from household recycling and (ii) the most common form of or reason for this contamination.

11.
11.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources considering the ready availability of 'haze-free' cooking oil (or certified sustainable palm oil) in Singapore (a) whether the Government will consider subsidising its higher cost to increase the uptake by restaurants; and (b) what other methods the Ministry is considering to encourage its uptake.

No.

34 20 FEBRUARY 2017 8 12.

13.


Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) what is the reason for the rise in littering resulting in more than 31,000 summons issued by NEA last year; (b) whether any analysis been done to understand the underlying cause; and (c) what is the Ministry doing to address this problem.
Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) whether there will be assistance for households who cannot cope with the forthcoming increase in the price of water; (b) what is the current percentage of households that are consuming more water than the national average; and (c) whether the Ministry has conducted a study on the water usage of non-residential facilities.

14.
14.

Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources for the past 10 years, what has been the average number and percentage of households whose annual ·water consumption are below the national average, broken down by HDB flat types and private housing types respectively.

15.
15.

Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources for the past 10 years, what has been the domestic water consumption per capita of Singapore compared to other First World countries.

16.
16.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Education (Schools) (a) when was the Primary 1 registration form (pupil data form) last updated; and (b) whether there are plans to update the form so as to modify the occupations listed for both parents to reflect the gender diversity in an increasing number of occupations.

No.

34 20 FEBRUARY 2017 9 2017 s. L. 244 s. L. 245 s. L. 246 s. L. 247 Pari.

5 Pres.

Co. 33 Pres.

Co. 34 Pres.


Co. 35 PAPERS PRESENTED Income Tax (Exemption of Income of RASCE) (Revocation) Rules 2016 Income Tax (Exemption of Income of SICOM) (Revocation) Rules 2016 Date Presented 9 February 2017 9 February 2017 Income Tax (Revocation) Rules 2016 9 February 2017.
(Exemption Income Tax of Prescribed Amount of Interest Derived by from Deposits m Standard Savings, Current or Fixed Deposit Accounts) (Revocation) Rules 2016 Individuals Report of the Select Committee on the Kwong-Wai-Shiu Free Hospital (Transfer of Undertaking and Dissolution) Bill [Bill No.
39/2016] Report of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights the Presidential Elections (Amendment) Bill [Bill No 2/2017] on Report of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights on the Planning (A).ll.endment) Bill [Bill No 3/2017] Report of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights on the International Enterprise Singapore Board (Amendment) Bill [Bill No 1/2017] 9 February 2017 15 February 2017 15 February 2017 15 February 2017 15 February 2017 No.
34 20 FEBRUARY 2017 10 PAPERS PRESENTED - continued 2017 Pres.

Co. 36 Report of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights on the Parks and Trees (Amendment) Bill [Bill No 4/2017] Date Presented 15 February2017