Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698830960483.pdf (Singapore)
FOURTEENTH PARLIAMENT OF SINGAPORE ___________________ FIRST SESSION ___________________ ORDER PAPER MONDAY, 2 AUGUST 2021 No.

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QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER* Mr Shawn Huang Wei Zhong: To ask the Minister for Transport what are the transportation infrastructure plans to support the build-up of Tuas Mega Port and increased business activities in Tuas.
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) for each year in the past five years, what is the estimated percentage of marine debris that originates from (i) disposal of waste from ships and (ii) floating debris from neighbouring countries; and (b) if such data is not currently collected, whether the Ministry will start collecting the data.
Dr Wan Rizal: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) what is the number of licensed cleaning businesses that have failed to comply with the Progressive Wage Model since its implementation in 2014; (b) what actions have been taken against these companies; and (c) what efforts are taken to professionalise the cleaning industry and promote good practices to transform the industry.
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what is the progress of regulatory approval of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine; (b) when does Singapore expect to receive its first shipments of this vaccine for which advance purchase orders have already been placed; and (c) whether there plans to expedite the acquisition and approval of this vaccine in Singapore.

No.

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2 AUGUST 2021 2 Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether short-term visit pass (STVP) holders are eligible for any vaccination schemes in Singapore; (b) if yes, when was this available to such individuals and how many have been vaccinated; and (c) if not, whether the Multi-Ministry Task Force will allow STVP holders who live in close contact with long-term residents to be eligible for the vaccination schemes.
Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development what is the proportion of self-employed persons that could not receive their COVID-19 Recovery Grants due to their insufficient MediSave payments.
Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) to date, what is the number of self-employed persons (SEPs) who could have qualified for Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) but are unable to do so because of their lack of MediSave contributions; and (b) whether the Government will consider providing concessions for SEPs to qualify for WIS by having their MediSave eligibility temporarily lowered in light of the COVID-19 crisis or having their MediSave contributions spaced out.
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) for each year in the past five years, what are the average and median starting salaries of a social worker; and (b) whether the Ministry intends to recommend higher salaries for social workers.
Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin: To ask the Minister for Health whether beyond the current utilisation limits for outpatient counselling and inpatient hospitalisation, the Government intends to further tackle the issue of longer- term affordability and consistent accessibility for those seeking treatments and medication relating to mental health conditions given that the COVID- 19 pandemic has had an adverse impact on our people's mental health and insurance options for mental health conditions are limited.

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Mr Darryl David: To ask the Minister for Education (a) when can inter- school games and sports competitions be expected to re-commence; and (b) whether more games and sports can eventually be included when the competitions re-commence.

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Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) how many Employment Pass and S Pass holders have submitted fabricated or forged education qualification certifications in the past three years in the ICT industry; and (b) whether the Ministry will review and work with only reputable overseas educational institutions with a proven track record for approval of both Employment Pass and S Pass applications.

No.

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Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) how does the Ministry enforce the restrictions on work pass holders carrying on work outside of the designated employer; (b) over the last five years, what is the annual number of cases of work pass holders found to be working for more than one employer at the same time; and (c) what are the penalties for the employer and employee involved.

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Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what are the overall measures to assist the vulnerable in the community such as cardboard collectors, beggars, rough sleepers and pedlars; and (b) what are the ways by which the Ministry can better and continually communicate to the public on the help measures available so that longer-term sustainable support can be given to these vulnerable.

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Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Education (a) given the shift back to Phase 2 (Heightened Alert), what is the assessed risk level for children under the age of 12 who are unable to be vaccinated; and (b) what are the considerations when deciding the further steps that need to be taken, particularly in indoor educational settings, to ensure the safety of these children and their families, whether now or in the future when moving into COVID-19 as an endemic disease.

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Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) for workers who are transported in lorries, what are the measures recommended by the Ministry that employers can adopt to ensure that workers remain dry if it rains during the journey; and (b) if there are no guidelines, whether the Ministry is considering to implement such guidelines.

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Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for Manpower what channels of appeal and support are available to workers with employer-provided healthcare insurance when the employer-provided insurer has changed and the affected workers are no longer covered for conditions which the previous insurer covered.
Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for Manpower with regard to outsourced employment, to what extent do flexible working arrangements (FWA) incentives apply to (i) the outsourcing entity and (ii) the contractor employing the outsourced worker during the period of such employment.

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Mr Darryl David: To ask the Minister for Education whether he can provide an update as to how the Direct School Admission (DSA) for admission into secondary schools is progressing under the present COVID-19 restrictions.
No.

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Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Minister for Manpower when a childcare centre or a school is officially ordered to be closed because of links to COVID-19 cases (a) whether the Ministry can consider granting the parents special leave that is beyond the normal childcare leave so as to take care of the child under such circumstances; and (b) if so, whether the leave can cover the period that the childcare centre or school is closed.

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Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) to date, how many ex-offenders have been hired under the Jobs Growth Incentive (JGI); (b) what sectors have they been employed in, in percentage terms; and (c) what steps will be taken to ensure that the ex-offenders will be fairly treated as employees after the end of the 18-month salary support period under the JGI.

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Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Minister for Health for Quarantine Orders (QO) that have been issued to persons identified as close contacts of COVID-19 cases (a) what are the average and longest time intervals from the day of their exposure to the infected individual, to the day the QO is served; and (b) how has the average speed of isolating close contacts of COVID-19 cases changed since the start of the year.

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Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs what can the Government do to (i) help de-escalate the tension in Israel and the Palestinian Territories to avoid the loss of innocent lives and protect from damage the UNESCO World Heritage religious sites in the Old City of Jerusalem which include the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Wailing Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and (ii) monitor and ensure the safety of all Singapore citizens who are currently residing in Israel.

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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 Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Minister for Manpower for foreign students holding a student pass (a) whether there is a requirement for foreign students holding a student pass to declare if they are undertaking part-time work during the school term; and (b) over the last five years, what is the annual number of student pass holders found to be working where a work pass would have been required.

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Dr Tan Yia Swam: To ask the Minister for Health whether Rostered Routine Testing can be implemented for (i) Members of Parliament (MPs) doing home visits (ii) MPs doing physical Meet-the-People sessions and (iii) MPs attending parliamentary sittings.

No.

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No.

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2 AUGUST 2021 5 Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) what are the current measures to prevent dialysis patients from being discriminated against at the workplace; and (b) given the prevalence of kidney failure, what is being done to promote flexible working arrangements (FWA) to accommodate these patients’ attendance at life-supporting dialysis centres.
Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: To ask the Minister for Finance in light of SGX’s efforts to promote more widespread remuneration disclosures by listed companies done in compliance with Singapore’s Code of Corporate Governance, whether the Ministry will consider (i) instituting industry best practices on remuneration disclosures for government investment entities on average or for key management personnel and (ii) requiring Temasek Holdings to make bonus disclosures on average or for key management personnel.
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Mr Darryl David: To ask the Minister for Law (a) how many mediation cases have there been between wedding couples and vendors who are affected by the COVID-19 restrictions in the last 12 months; and (b) how many of these cases have been successful.

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Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) for each of the years from 2011 to 2015, what is the five-year recidivism rate; (b) whether the Singapore Prison Service can publish the five-year recidivism rate alongside the two-year recidivism rate in its annual report; and (c) what is the proportion of current inmates in Changi Prison who have been imprisoned before.

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Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what is the total number of cases of long-COVID diagnosed and logged in Singapore since the figure of zero reported in November 2020, broken down by gender and age group; (b) what are the plans for dedicated, integrated care for long-COVID patients, including physiological and psychological care; and (c) what measures have been taken to support patients with long-COVID symptoms.

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Ms Tin Pei Ling: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information whether the Government will more proactively police the Internet and block violent content that can be accessible to children and youths in Singapore.

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Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs since 7 April 2020 (a) whether the police has permitted any vice activities to continue operating; (b) how many enforcement operations have been conducted against illegal vice activities; (c) how many individuals and businesses have had action taken against them for engaging in vice-related activities; and (d) how does the police ensure that such activities are not a source of spread of COVID-19.

No.

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Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) whether the Government will be implementing changes to improve safe management measures in KTV bars and similar nightlife establishments; (b) if so, what are these; and (c) whether the Government will ensure that such measures will not unfairly affect other nightlife establishments whose businesses are substantially different from bars with hostesses.
* 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 Introduction of Government Bills 1.

Minister for Home Affairs: Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill.

2.

Minister for Sustainability and the Environment: Environmental Protection and Management (Amendment) Bill.

ORDERS OF THE DAY AND NOTICE OF MOTION (Those markedꞏ are Orders of the Day) 1.

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3.

Child Development Co-Savings (Amendment) Bill [Bill No.
15/2021] – (Minister for Social and Family Development) – Second Reading Dental Registration (Amendment) Bill [Bill No.

16/2021] – (Minister for Health) – Second Reading Police Force (Amendment) Bill [Bill No.

14/2021] – (Minister for Home Affairs) – Second Reading No.

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2 AUGUST 2021 7 Mr Christopher de Souza (Holland-Bukit Timah) Mr Murali Pillai (Bukit Batok) Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan (Pioneer): COMMEMORATING 200 YEARS OF THE SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE: That this House commemorates and honours the important contributions of the Singapore Police Force and its officers to nation building and to keeping Singapore as one of the safest countries in the world.

1 3 MEMORANDUM Matter proposed to be raised on the Motion for the Adjournment (SO 2(8)(b)).
Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling (East Coast) : Improving Access to and Sustainability of the Rare Disease Fund.

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QUESTIONS FOR WRITTEN ANSWER Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Defence (a) what are the reasons for allowing the National Day Parade (NDP) to proceed in the midst of Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) from 22 July to 18 August 2021; and (b) whether the event will increase the risk of the spread of infection to COVID-19 frontliners and essential workers invited to watch the NDP in person and who will thereafter be in frequent contact with members of the public.
Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs (a) how many Singaporean citizens are currently registered to be still within Myanmar; and (b) whether there will be further relief flights scheduled for August 2021.
Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs whether ICA will consider providing some reason or a general response as to why an application for permanent residency is unsuccessful especially for repeat applicants who have been living in Singapore for a long period of time so that they can have a better understanding of their path towards permanent residency.
Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether the Familial Ties Lane is still available for foreign visitors who are entering to register their marriage in Singapore to a Singaporean citizen or permanent resident; and (b) if so, what are the requirements.

No.

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Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) for each month from October 2020 to June 2021, how many licences have been granted to nightlife operators to pivot to F&B businesses; (b) how many proactive enforcement operations have been undertaken to check that safe management measures are being followed by such operators; (c) how many operators have been investigated for suspected rule breaches; and (d) how many of such outlets have been shut down due to breaching the rules and regulations.
Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs for each month since January 2020, how many short-term visit pass holders are present in Singapore on average.

Ms Hazel Poa: To ask the Minister for Law whether the Government has updated its position on the necessity for the implementation of a Good Samaritan law in Singapore.
Ms Hazel Poa: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) what are the reasons behind the second review of the India-Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) taking eight years to complete; (b) what are the main contentious issues in the second review of CECA; and (c) what are the issues under review in the current third review of CECA.
Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) whether nightlife businesses that pivot to other industries besides F&B receive Government assistance; (b) with only 18 nightlife businesses out of 400 taking up the Pivot Grant Support, what is the reason for the low take-up rate; and (c) how does the Ministry follow up with nightlife businesses after their licence to pivot to other commercial operations has been approved.
Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) what is the Ministry’s forecast of job creation in the industries covered by Industry Transformation Maps; and (b) what steps is the Government taking to meet those demands.
Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment whether the Government will consider working with the various hawkers’ and F&B associations to establish a centralised hawker food platform, to provide an open platform to all hawkers and assist, in particular, those less technologically inclined.
Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment in light of the required closing of certain markets and hawker centres to try and contain the spread of COVID-19, whether the Government can consider a coordinated purchasing and distribution effort of safe food supplies to prevent mass wastage of supplies which have already been bought by the stallholders.

No.

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Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for Education whether enrichment teachers at tuition centres and after-school care centres can be considered for vaccination priority in future vaccination exercises when COVID-19 vaccination boosters are needed.

Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: To ask the Minister for Education what assistance is the Ministry offering to NTU to resolve the hall allocation issue faced by students.
Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Education (a) to date, what are the COVID-19 vaccination rates for students aged 12-18 years old; and (b) whether students will be given priority timings on vaccinations to ensure minimal disruptions to their school schedules.
Ms Hazel Poa: To ask the Minister for Finance (a) how many China- and India-headquartered companies and subsidiaries of such companies in the finance, ICT and professional services sectors are currently engaged by the Government as contractors; (b) what is the total value of these contracts; and (c) what is the number of Singaporeans employed by these companies.
Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development how does the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) ensure that there are sufficient numbers of infant care centres, child care centres and kindergarten places in each constituency.

Mr Sitoh Yih Pin: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development in the past three years, how many cases of Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) involved fraud or abuse.
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what are the criteria for a case handled by a Family Service Centre (FSC) to be considered as an active case and eligible for funding from the Ministry; and (b) whether the Ministry is reviewing these criteria.
Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) how many calls has the National Care Hotline received between 1 August 2020 and 1 August 2021; and (b) whether here are any trends which have been detected in terms of the issues faced by callers.
Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether HSA will consider public education for Singaporeans on identifying medical and surgical masks that meet the EN 14683 / ASTM F2100 standards; and (b) whether HSA will require e-commerce platforms to check that the surgical masks that they sell are of the necessary standard.

No.

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2 AUGUST 2021 10 Dr Tan Yia Swam: To ask the Minister for Health (a) of the 13.6 million swab tests that have been performed, what is the breakdown into (i) symptomatic patients (ii) close contacts of confirmed positive COVID-19 cases and (iii) Rostered Routine Testing (RRT) respectively; and (b) how many positive cases were picked up after symptomatic patients have the deep nasal swab and RRT respectively.
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Health how individuals who have allergic reactions to their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and are prevented from getting their second dose will be able to eventually attain “fully vaccinated” status.
Mr Sitoh Yih Pin: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether there is an expectation that the 5th consecutive quarter rise in private property prices will continue in the foreseeable future; and (b) whether there are any plans by the Government to manage this trend.
Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what are the measures adopted by NParks to control the population of birds in HDB housing estates or assist in the relocation of birds in a sustainable and humane way in order to reduce the noise disturbances caused to residents in areas where there is an over population of birds roosting in trees; and (b) whether NParks is studying other innovative ways or collaborating with other agencies in such measures.
Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth whether the Government is working with ticketing companies offering online streaming services to introduce age gates so that arts groups can produce non- “G” rated work digitally and still enjoy access to funding from the Digital Presentation Grant for the Arts (DPG).
Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) for the past three years, what is the number and proportion of foreign domestic workers (FDWs) who are diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB) following commencement of employment in Singapore; (b) how many of these FDWs are medically assessed to be infectious and have insurance coverage for TB treatment; and (c) what can be done to help employers whose FDWs are diagnosed with TB.
Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) what are the measures and training provided to foreign domestic workers or other migrant workers to raise awareness of their rights and protection under the laws of Singapore in order to protect them against any mistreatment, abuse or violence perpetrated upon them; and (b) whether such measures include counselling and psychiatric support in their own language for any survivors of such violence.

No.

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2 AUGUST 2021 11 Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for Manpower from 2005 to 2020, how many intra-corporate transferees, foreign professionals and dependants who have initially entered Singapore respectively through the Movement of Natural Persons provisions in the various free trade agreements subsequently (i) became citizens (ii) became permanent residents or (iii) re-entered Singapore’s workforce through another type of visa.
Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the relevant dependency ratio ceiling applies to companies who supply labour to the construction, marine and process (CMP) sector and services sector; (b) to date, what are the types and respective numbers of violations that the Ministry has discovered with regard to recruitment of foreigners in these sectors; and (c) whether the Ministry will consider resuming regular publications of the Employment Agency (EA) Enforcement Digest on the Ministry’s website that contains these information.
Ms Hazel Poa: To ask the Minister for Manpower to date, what is the total number of work passes that have been issued to foreign nationals (not restricted to Indian nationals) who belong to any of the 127 professions listed under Annex 9A of the India-Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA).
Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for Manpower with regard to the more than 270,000 locals hired under the Jobs Growth Incentive as of February 2021 (a) which industries are the beneficiaries; (b) how many Singaporean citizens have been hired; and (c) what is the breakdown of these locals by monthly salary bands of (i) less than $3,000 (ii) $3,000 to less than $4,500 (iii) $4,500 to less than $6,000 (iv) $6,000 to less than $10,000 and (v) $10,000 and above.

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Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for Manpower what are the respective current numbers of work permit holders who earn basic wages (i) from $3,000 to less than $4,500 and (ii) more than $4,500.

2021 S. L. 295 PAPERS PRESENTED Date Presented Environmental Public Health (Registration of Environmental Control Coordinators and Environmental Control Officers) Regulations 2021 ..... 27 July 2021 No.
35 2 AUGUST 2021 12 PAPERS PRESENTED - continued 2021 Date Presented S. L. 296 Environmental Public Health (Registration of Environmental Officers) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 Control ..... 27 July 2021 S. L. 297 Environmental Public Health Premises) Regulations 2021 (Specified ..... 27 July 2021 S. L. 298 COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) (Control Order) (Amendment No.
14) Regulations 2021 ..... 27 July 2021 S. L. 299 Measures) (Temporary COVID-19 (Performances and Other Activities - Control Order) (Amendment No.

10) Regulations 2021 ..... 27 July 2021 S. L. 300 COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) (Foreign Employee Dormitories - Control Order) (Amendment No.

4) Regulations 2021 ..... 27 July 2021 S. L. 301 COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) (Sporting Events and Activities - Control Order) (Amendment No.
7) Regulations 2021 ..... 27 July 2021 S. L. 302 COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) (Major Business Events - Control Order) (Amendment No.

4) Regulations 2021 ..... 27 July 2021 S. L. 303 Measures) (Temporary COVID-19 (Religious Gatherings - Control Order) (Amendment No.

2) Regulations 2021 ..... 27 July 2021 S. 136 Long-Term Care Support Fund Audited Financial Statements for financial period from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021 ..... 27 July 2021 Cmd.
10 Government Financial Statements for the Financial Year 2020/2021 ..... 28 July 2021 No.

35 2 AUGUST 2021 13 PAPERS PRESENTED - continued 2021 Date Presented S. 137 National Council of Social Service (NCSS) Annual Report FY 2020 ..... 29 July 2021 S. L. 304 of Regulation (Amendment) Regulations 2021 Imports and Exports ..... 29 July 2021