Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698079886884.pdf (Singapore)
FOURTEENTH PARLIAMENT OF SINGAPORE ___________________ FIRST SESSION ___________________ ORDER PAPER WEDNESDAY, 22 FEBRUARY 2023 No.

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QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER* Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth for each year in the past five years (a) in how many and what percentage of cases have the 80:20 fund-raising rule requiring at least 80% of funds raised for foreign charitable purposes be applied towards local charitable purposes been waived for fund-raising activities; (b) of the cases where this 80:20 rule is waived, what are the top three target donor groups and beneficiaries; and (c) when will the Ministry next review this 80:20 rule.
Ms Poh Li San: To ask the Prime Minister in view of the recent disruption caused by the power outage at Microsoft Azure on 8 February 2023 (a) how can Government web services and data hosted on commercial data centres be assured of availability and data security; and (b) what is the Government’s procurement policy in terms of web services and data hosted in data centres owned by Singapore companies compared to foreign companies.
Ms Yeo Wan Ling: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) what are the guidelines given to premise owners in the marking out of Designated Smoking Areas within Orchard Road No Smoking Zones; and (b) whether, in the past year, there have been complaints from users on the clarity of these markings.
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Defence whether there has been any consideration towards raising the allowances for full-time National Servicemen in view of inflationary pressures and increases in the cost of living.

No.

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22 FEBRUARY 2023 2 Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Progressive Wage Model (PWM)'s approach to wage increases is linked to an expectation of increased productivity from businesses, with the aim of reducing costs; and (b) what steps has the Ministry been taking to assist companies that have implemented the PWM and are facing difficulties in boosting productivity.
Ms Poh Li San: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs in view of the 32.6% increase in scam cases and 13 scam syndicates busted in 2022 (a) whether more resources will be deployed by the Ministry and relevant agencies in the financial sector to deal with the growing case load; and (b) whether more can be done in collaboration with other law enforcement agencies in other jurisdictions to track and arrest culprits responsible for the scam cases.
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether the Ministry has studied the effectiveness of the enforcement powers provided to inspectors with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in England and Wales and officers with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider providing similar enforcement powers under the Animals and Birds Act to selected non-Government animal welfare groups in Singapore.
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the job market in the information and communications sector is shrinking; and (b) if so, whether the Ministry has correspondingly reduced the number of employment passes and S-passes issued to foreigners seeking jobs in this sector.
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Prime Minister (a) what is the number and percentage of public service agencies that provide unpaid leave for parents with multiple or pre-term babies; (b) what is the take-up rate of such leave for each year in the past five years; and (c) if data on the take-up rate has not been collected, whether the Prime Minister’s Office will start collecting this data.

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Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information regarding the further investigations into the discrepancy in circulation figures by SPH Media Trust's Audit and Risk Committee (a) whether the Ministry will be asking the Committee to share its full investigation report with the public; and (b) when is the report expected to be completed and released.

No.

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Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance regarding the recent surge of wealth from foreign investors establishing family offices in Singapore (a) what is the projected impact on our income gap; (b) whether there are any ongoing assessments of inequality and the widening income gap in Singapore; and (c) how does the Government plan to strike a balance between staying attractive to wealthy foreigners looking to invest in and relocate to Singapore, and ensuring that low-income Singaporeans have access to opportunities for social mobility and benefit from these investments.
* 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.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance: Supply Bill.

(President’s recommendation signified).

2.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance: Supplementary Supply (FY 2022) Bill.

(President’s recommendation signified).

ORDER OF THE DAY 1.
ORDER OF THE DAY 1.

BUDGET STATEMENT: Resumption of Debate on Question (14 February 2023) (Allotted Day), “That Parliament approves the financial policy of the Government for the financial year 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024.”.

– (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance).

No.

84 22 FEBRUARY 2023 4 MEMORANDUM Matter proposed to be raised on the Motion for the Adjournment (SO 2(8)(b)).

Mr Murali Pillai (Bukit Batok) : Impact of Relocating Bukit View Primary School.

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QUESTIONS FOR WRITTEN ANSWER Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance why is flexibility not being given to Singaporeans to spend the $150 Community Development Council vouchers for supermarkets at small businesses that may benefit more from the increased expenditure by households than the large supermarket chains.
Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) in the past five years, how many fire incidents relate to kitchen exhaust ducts (KED) in food and beverage establishments like coffeeshops or hawker stalls; and (b) for such cases, what is the average prior duration when such KED was last cleaned or maintained by the operators or owners.
Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) for the past five years, how many emergency response cases have been reported or attended to by members of the public through the myResponder App, broken down to the most common types of incidents; and (b) what are the plans to increase the subscribers to the App and build capability for the public’s emergency response especially for those incidents commonly reported.
Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs how is the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992 being reviewed to reflect lower levels of culpability needed to prove intention for offences related to mule accounts for scams.
Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether he can provide an update on the number of scams in Singapore that are reported in 2022; (b) what means were the scams operated through; and (c) what are the age demographics of the victims.
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether the Ministry is aware of individuals registering a change of address with ICA after moving house but continuing to use the address imprinted on their NRIC without affixing the sticker containing their new address on the back of their NRIC for nefarious purposes such as taking out loans with illegal moneylenders; and (b) what measures the Ministry plans to take to detect and prevent fraud of this nature in order to protect the new occupants of the address.
No.

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Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment whether NEA will consider requiring operators and owners of coffeeshops and hawker stalls to conduct cleaning and maintenance of the kitchen exhaust ducts at least twice a year especially for stalls with heavy cooking.
Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment whether there are plans to prioritise and expedite the construction of hawker centres in constituencies where there is no hawker centre.
Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) whether there are on-going assessments on the possible impact to the environment between the use of biodegradable plastics and the conventional types of plastics in Singapore; (b) whether there is a plan to encourage the use of biodegradable plastics as part of our sustainability goals; and (c) If not, what are the underlying reasons for this stance.

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Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) whether he can provide an update on the status of the landscape study being conducted on the funeral services industry; (b) what is the timeline for further updates on the proposed steps and regulations aimed at improving service standards in the industry; and (c) given the demographic challenges posed by an ageing population, what actions is the Ministry taking to expedite the results of the study and the implementation of related policies.
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Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: To ask the Minister for Education (a) whether the Ministry tracks the available vacancies and number of applicants waiting to enrol in Special Education schools; (b) if so, what is the current (i) total number on the waiting list and (ii) average wait before enrolment; and (c) whether there are plans for more of such schools in the South West district of Singapore.

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Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Education (a) for each year since their establishment, what percentage of students in (i) the Uplifting Pupils in Life and Inspiring Families Taskforce programme and (ii) the Enhanced STEP-UP programme, live in public rental flats; and (b) if such data is unavailable, whether the Ministry will consider collecting it.

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Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development whether the amount for the Basic Child Care Subsidy will be reviewed in light of increased cost of living.

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Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development whether the Basic Child Care Subsidy can operate on a tiered basis with increased subsidies for second and third children.

No.

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Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Health whether medical subsidies for retirees can be based on a broader set of factors beyond the annual value of their home to take into account retirees who have owned landed property for many years but do not have much savings.

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Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether the Ministry has studied the possibility of implementing a blanket ban on the use of gill nets for fishing including those used below depths of two kilometres; (b) if so, what are the results of the study; and (c) if not, whether the Ministry will consider conducting such a study.

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Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) since 2010, what is the proportion of HDB flat owners who have taken out HDB loans and have made full repayment of their mortgage loans ahead of their loan tenure; and (b) how does this figure compare with the earlier cohorts of HDB flat owners who took out HDB loans.

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Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for National Development in respect of Annex 9 of the handout shared with Members of Parliament during the debate on the public housing motions on 6 February 2023, what is the house price to income multiple for Los Angeles, London, Sydney, and Hong Kong for a median apartment with the floor area of the average HDB flat in Singapore.

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Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry will consider increasing the CPF Ordinary Wage (OW) ceiling of $6,000, given that the ceiling was last raised seven years ago, and for the OW ceiling to be pegged to the 80th percentile of income, in keeping with the spirit of the recommendations of the Economic Review Committee on the CPF system in 2002.

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Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) since 2018, what is the percentage of CPF members who have chosen to defer their monthly retirement payouts beyond the Payout Eligibility Age of 65 years; and (b) among the members who have (i) chosen to defer and (ii) not defer their monthly retirement payouts, what is the respective percentage of those who are still working.

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Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) what is the current number and percentage of male and female CPF members respectively who are unable to set aside the CPF Full Retirement Sum (FRS) in their Retirement Accounts; and (b) what is the forecast on the number and percentage of CPF members who will not be able to set aside the CPF FRS over the next five years.

No.

84 22 FEBRUARY 2023 7 2023 S. L. 801 Cmd.

20 Cmd.

21 Misc.
5 PAPERS PRESENTED Employment of Foreign Manpower (Work (Amendment) Passes) Regulations 2023 The Revenue and Expenditure Estimates for the Financial Year 2023 / 2024 Supplementary of Expenditure for the Financial Year 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023 Estimates the Minister Statement of for Finance [Under Article 147(4)(a) of the Constitution] S. L. 802 Workplace Safety (COVID-19 (Revocation) Regulations 2023 and Health Safe Workplace) S. L. 803 Road Traffic (Electronic Road Pricing System) (Amendment) Rules 2023 Date Presented ..... 14 February 2023 ..... 14 February 2023 ..... 14 February 2023 ..... 14 February 2023 ..... 15 February 2023 ..... 15 February 2023 S. L. 804 Fees (Copies of Reports, Statements, Plans and Photographs) Order 2022 ..... 15 February 2023