Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698080358948.pdf (Singapore)
FOURTEENTH PARLIAMENT OF SINGAPORE ___________________ FIRST SESSION ___________________ ORDER PAPER THURSDAY, 20 OCTOBER 2022 No.

72 1.30 pm 1 QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER* *1.

Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Health with regard to the bivalent COVID-19 vaccines (a) when will the vaccines be made available; (b) how different is this booster vaccine from the original Moderna and Pfizer booster in terms of efficacy; and (c) when should a person who have recovered from COVID-19 take this vaccine.

*2.
*2.

Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what caused the power outage at Woodlands Checkpoint on 9 October 2022; (b) whether there are any data breach or losses incurred; and (c) how can such power outages be prevented.

*3.
*3.

Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is known regarding the root causes of the power outage at Woodlands Checkpoint on 9 October 2022, including the reasons for the reported failure of the backup power generator measures; and (b) what measures are taken to ensure resilience of Singapore's immigration checkpoints against electrical power failures.

*4.
*4.

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is the cause of the failure of the backup power generator at Woodlands Checkpoint on 9 October 2022 despite having been serviced and tested the day before; and (b) what measures, including manual workarounds, does the Ministry have in place to ensure that all border checkpoints are able to continue performing their essential functions, including immigration clearance, in the event of an extended power outage.

No.
No.

72 20 OCTOBER 2022 2 *5.

Mr Alex Yam Ziming: To ask the Minister for National Development with the recent announcement of further cooling measures for the property sector (a) how many Singaporeans are estimated to be affected by the 15-month wait-out period for a resale HDB flat; (b) what assistance may be provided to those who are caught out by circumstances but may genuinely require housing urgently; and (c) how will the new measures cool the property market.

*6.
*6.

Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) for the past three years, what has been the number of HDB resale flat transactions involving buyers who are private property owners (PPOs) or PPOs who have disposed of a private property prior to submitting an application to buy a HDB resale flat; and (b) of such buyers, what is the percentage of purchasers who paid cash over valuation and who are above 55 years old.

*7.
*7.

Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng: To ask the Minister for National Development to encourage marriage and parenthood, whether the Government will consider (i) advance construction of more HDB BTO projects to shorten the waiting period of first-time applicants and (ii) extension of the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme to couples awaiting their BTO flats and whose household income is between $7,000 to $14,000, instead of only to those earning $7,000 and below.

*8.
*8.

Ms Foo Mee Har: To ask the Minister for National Development what specific measures can the Government implement to shorten the waiting time for new HDB BTO projects to less than three years going forward.

*9.
*9.

Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether there are any standard training, support or security measures in place for staff of preschools or childcare service providers regulated by the Early Childhood Development Agency to handle unexpected security incidents; and (b) if so, whether any further updates will be made to these measures.

*10.
*10.

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what physical security measures are preschools and childcare centres required to put in place to detect and prevent intrusions by unauthorised persons; (b) whether the Ministry regularly checks that these measures are being implemented across all centres; and (c) whether these measures are sufficient to prevent persons with criminal intent from entering the centres and harming staff and children.

No.
No.

72 20 OCTOBER 2022 3 *11.

Dr Lim Wee Kiak: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance since the introduction of the Pioneer Generation Package and the Merdeka Generation Package (a) how much of the budget set aside has been spent under each package respectively; (b) how many citizens have benefitted from these packages and of which, how many recipients are still alive; and (c) how has the rise in inflation impacted on the budget for these packages.

*12.
*12.

Mr Liang Eng Hwa: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) how many seniors have benefitted from the Pioneer Generation Package and Merdeka Generation Package respectively; (b) how much money has been disbursed so far under each of the Packages; (c) whether the funds set aside for both Packages are adequate to meet future disbursements; and (d) whether projected surpluses, if any, can be used to enhance the benefits of both Packages.

*13.
*13.

Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what proportion of HDB flat owners with private financial loans may be affected by the rising interest rates; and (b) what is the likelihood of these owners requiring interim housing support from the Government due to foreclosure risk.

*14.
*14.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) in view of the rising interest rate environment, what is the financial impact on those who have taken HDB and commercial bank loans to finance their HDB flat purchases; (b) whether the Government will consider assisting these affected groups; and (c) if so, how.

*15.
*15.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Prime Minister in view of higher interest rates (a) whether there has been an increase in corporate bad debts; and (b) how does the Monetary Authority of Singapore ensure that SMEs continue to have access to capital to grow their businesses.

*16.
*16.

Mr Alex Yam Ziming: To ask the Prime Minister (a) what proportion of home owners with loans from private financial institutions have been affected by the rise in interest rates; and (b) what is the risk and magnitude of foreclosures in the near- to medium-term.

*17.
*17.

Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Minister for Transport in light of industry reports that the global supply chain congestion is easing and normalising (a) what percentage of its capacity is Singapore’s seaport presently operating at; (b) what will the impact of a “normalisation” of global supply chains have on our seaport; and (c) whether the Ministry needs to scale up or augment our seaport’s capacity to prepare for the expected change in the shipping landscape over the next year.

No.
No.

72 20 OCTOBER 2022 4 *18.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry in view of the United States-imposed restrictions on sales of semiconductor products to China from 7 October 2022 (a) what has been the impact on the semiconductor industry in Singapore; and (b) whether, and, if so, how is the Ministry supporting the industry in building up its resilience to geopolitical tensions.

*19.
*19.

Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng: To ask the Minister for Education how has the National Institute of Education been preparing trainee teachers to meet the changing demands of education.

*20.
*20.

Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Prime Minister (a) what is the basis for setting the new Total Debt Servicing Ratio medium-term interest rate floor at 4% per annum; (b) how does the rate compare to historical mortgage rates in Singapore; and (c) whether MAS expects the ‘thereafter interest rate’ to exceed the 4% per annum floor in the next 12 months.

*21.
*21.

Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) how are HDB rental housing eligibility criteria and rental rates affected by the increase in wages arising from the progressive wage model; and (b) whether low-wage earners who may become ineligible for rental housing or who have to pay higher rents as a result of higher wages will be discouraged from renting HDB flats.

*22.
*22.

Dr Shahira Abdullah: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what is the prevalence of cases of elderly self-harm in Singapore; (b) whether there has been an increase in such cases over the years; and (c) what are the current efforts to ensure that the elderly is able to access help as more resources are moved online.

*23.
*23.

Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what is the current total number of registered foreign doctors in Singapore; (b) what is the average annual increase in this number since 2000; and (c) what is the breakdown of these numbers according to nationalities.

*24.
*24.

Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for Health how many doctors who are (i) Singaporean and (ii) non-Singaporean and who graduated from local and recognised foreign universities are granted registration to practise in Singapore since 2000.

No.

72 20 OCTOBER 2022 5 *25.
Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs with the number of individuals granted permanent resident (PR) status in 2021 at a record high since 2009 (a) what are the reasons for this; (b) whether the number of PRs is expected to increase and to what extent; (c) how will the enhancements to our Employment Pass framework contribute to this; (d) how long can they expect to wait before receiving their Singapore citizenship after applying; and (e) what are the efforts to facilitate the conversion of suitable PRs.
*26.
Miss Rachel Ong: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what is the average pricing for rehabilitative physiotherapy sessions before subsidy in organisations eligible for Government subsidies, for seniors above 60 years old; (b) what is the current percentage of seniors who have their fees subsidised for such services; (c) how many seniors discontinue rehabilitative physiotherapy sessions each year due to financial difficulties; and (d) of these seniors who discontinue such services due to financial difficulties, what is the percentage breakdown based on monthly household income per capita and annual value of residence.
*27.

Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Minister for Transport with regard to the tender by LTA to deploy 12,000 charging points across nearly 2,000 HDB carparks, what percentage of the charging points are intended for (i) electric vehicle rental services and (ii) private electric vehicle owners respectively.

*28.
*28.

Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for Health (a) since 2020, how many appeals have been received from Integrated Shield Plan insurance policyholders regarding their difficulties in making a claim that arises from the insurers’ definition of medical terminologies which diverge from how members of the public, laypersons and medical professionals may interpret the same terms; and (b) what recourse do affected policyholders have.

*29.
*29.

Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Education whether there is any study being commissioned to understand the impact of preschool children wearing face masks at preschools during the COVID-19 pandemic on their social development and to develop strategies to deal with any identified issues when they enter primary schools.

*30.
*30.

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what is the cause of the disruption to the electronic medical system on 29 September 2022; (b) how long does the Government expect the review of the system design and architecture and the eventual system upgrade will take; and (c) pending a complete review and system upgrade, whether the Ministry is also setting any interim, shorter term goals for the reduction of downtime during outages.

No.

72 20 OCTOBER 2022 6 *31.


Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) how much have prices of fresh fish increased over the past six months; and (b) whether the trend of rising prices for fresh fish is expected to continue into 2023.

*32.
*32.

Dr Shahira Abdullah: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs in view of the number of those aged 21 and below arrested for causing serious hurt increasing from 62 cases in 2011 to 77 in 2020 (a) what has been attributed to these numbers; (b) whether there are updated numbers for 2021 and 2022; and (c) what is being done to counter this trend.

*33.
Mr Mohd Fahmi Bin Aliman: To ask the Minister for Education in view of the difficulty faced by some mature and elderly workers under the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) in accessing their past training records using SingPass, whether there are plans to develop a training records gateway such as an online portal whereby companies’ HR personnel can electronically retrieve their employees’ training records that show their Statement of Attainment of WSQ modules to facilitate checks on whether the employees meet the training requirements of the various PWMs.
*34.

Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for Manpower in measuring the success of the Overseas Networks and Expertise (ONE) Pass, whether the Ministry will take into consideration (i) the profitability and success of organisations that hire ONE Pass talents in comparison to its past performance or competitors (ii) the maintenance or increase in the ratio of Singaporean to foreign talent in top roles and (iii) the increase in the overall number of Singaporean employees following its expansion.

*35.
*35.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether he can provide an update on the partnership between the Ministry and Daughters of Tomorrow, a social service agency, to pilot a childminding service for low-income parents; (b) how many single unwed parents have used the services under this partnership; and (c) whether the services can be scaled up to benefit more single unwed parents.

*36.
*36.

Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance in light of the recent collapse in the pound sterling and surge in the United Kingdom’s (UK) borrowing costs (a) what proportion of Singapore’s foreign asset holdings is exposed to UK gilts and pension-linked funds; and (b) whether our agencies have sufficiently diversified their UK-linked assets and pound holdings.

*37.
*37.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether data on the effectiveness of deploying cabin crew members from the Singapore Airlines Group to hospitals during COVID-19 have been collected; and (b) what lessons has the Ministry learnt from such deployment.

No.

72 20 OCTOBER 2022 7 *38.
Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) since refining the eligibility conditions for the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (PPHS) in August 2021, how many applicants who satisfy the eligibility conditions have been unable to obtain PPHS flats; and (b) given the current tight supply of PPHS flats following the longer than usual waiting time for completion of HDB BTO flats owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, whether HDB can consider providing these applicants with flats from the public rental market or grants to enable them to rent flats directly.
*39.

Miss Rachel Ong: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs since banks have co-located their staff with Police at the Anti-Scam Centre (a) what is the current number of (i) known scams that have been prevented and (ii) scams involving bank transfers and withdrawals that have not been prevented; and (b) where scams have not been prevented, what are the main causes.

*40.
*40.

Dr Shahira Abdullah: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what is the current percentage of HDB homeowners who have purchased a second private property in Singapore; (b) whether the number of such HDB flat owners who own more than one property has increased in the last five years; and (c) what is the current percentage of HDB flats that are not owner- occupied and are being rented out to third parties.

*41.
*41.

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) how many complaints related to road infrastructure have been lodged annually over the past five years; (b) of these, what is the percentage of complaints related to improper resurfaced roads after road works; and (c) how does LTA check that the roads have been properly surfaced and levelled after road works have been completed.

*42.
*42.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether the Government will review the Executive Condominium (EC) scheme and ensure that the prices of ECs are within the reach of HDB upgraders in view of the widening gap between private property and HDB prices, without affecting the affordability of HDB flats for Singaporeans; and (b) whether there are plans to increase the supply of ECs to meet the demand.

*43.
*43.

Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) what should consumers do if they have consumed recalled food products; and (b) what recourse do they have if they have taken ill after consumption of the recalled products.

No.

72 20 OCTOBER 2022 8 *44.


Ms Foo Mee Har: To ask the Minister for National Development in light of increasing mortgage interest rates by financial institutions amidst a rising interest rates environment, whether HDB will be similarly adjusting its HDB mortgage loan rate beyond the prevailing rate of 2.6% after 31 December 2022.

*45.
*45.

Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether additional sites can be activated to increase the number of HDB BTO flat launches beyond the current plan to launch up to 100,000 flats in total from 2021 to 2025, should demand exceed current projections; and (b) if not, what are the constraints for not being able to do so.

*46.
*46.

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) what is the current self-sufficiency level for agricultural inputs; and (b) whether Singapore will consider setting a target for a level of self-sufficiency on agricultural inputs.

*47.
*47.

Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for National Development whether the Ministry will consider disincentivising or requiring HDB owners to sell their flat if they wish to purchase private property, and to do likewise for private property owners who want to buy a HDB flat.

*48.
*48.

Mr Mohd Fahmi Bin Aliman: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is the number of armed robberies in the past five years; (b) what are the existing measures put in place to deter and prevent armed robberies in financial establishments located in heartland areas; and (c) whether additional measures will be implemented moving forward.

*49.
*49.

Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development whether the Public Guardian may be vested with the power to administer low value estates of individuals who have not made Lasting Powers of Attorney and lack mental capacities, so as to provide more cost-effective solutions for families of these individual to manage their affairs instead of making applications to court to be appointed as deputies.

*50.
*50.

Mr Seah Kian Peng: To ask the Prime Minister with the recent changes to remuneration for civil servants (a) what is the projected ratio of the annual total compensation of the top earners against the lowest ones; and (b) whether there is a target ratio that the Government hopes to attain.

*51.
*51.

Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling: To ask the Minister for Education (a) whether there are plans to build more formal curriculum to educate students in areas of space technology and nuclear technology; and (b) whether exchange programmes can be facilitated to further their interests overseas.

No.

72 20 OCTOBER 2022 9 *52.
Ms Mariam Jaafar: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) what is the total number of high-rise littering feedback received by NEA in 2021; (b) how long does NEA currently take to investigate high-rise littering cases; and (c) whether the Ministry can provide an update on its review of the suggestion on changing the law such that the liability for such cases is automatically assumed to lie with the owners or registered tenants of the particular unit where high-rise littering had occurred.
*53.
Mr Liang Eng Hwa: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) whether the Ministry collects data on high-rise cigarette butt littering cases specifically; (b) if so, whether the surveillance cameras deployed by NEA at HDB blocks have been effective in catching offenders of these cases; (c) how many offenders of high-rise cigarette butt littering have been caught in each of the last three years and in 2022; and (d) whether NEA will be looking at other technologies such as DNA testing to identify the culprits.
*54.

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Transport whether the Government will regulate the idle fees charged by electric vehicle (EV) charging providers to ensure that there is a right balance between discouraging the hogging of EV chargers and the unfair penalisation and profiteering by EV charging providers.

*55.
*55.

Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling: To ask the Prime Minister (a) whether the Government monitors the performance of relationship managers in bancassurance; and (b) what recourse is available for clients who have insufficient guidance or are misled by them.

*56.
Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) in instances whereby tenancy agreements are signed prior to the setting up of the Fair Tenancy Industry Committee's Code of Conduct for Leasing of Retail Premises in Singapore, what avenues for advice and assistance are available for small businesses concerned about unfair tenancy terms being invoked against them, especially when these terms are invoked unexpectedly and potentially causing their business to shut down; and (b) what dispute resolution platforms exist for such instances.
*57.

Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Minister for National Development in each of the past five years to date, what is (i) the average number of HDB units which are unoccupied and (ii) the percentage of completed HDB units which are unoccupied, based on definitions of property vacancies consistent with those of private residential properties as defined by URA.

No.

72 20 OCTOBER 2022 10 *58.


Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Transport in view of our ageing population, how can the Government ensure that wheelchair-accessible vehicular services are affordable, including reducing COE costs of vehicles for services operated by non-profit organisations.

*59.
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Health in each year since 2016 (a) how many Singaporean students studying medicine overseas have applied for the Pre-Employment Grant (PEG); (b) how many of these are approved; (c) what is the median grant amount; (d) what are the main reasons for the rejected applications; and (e) whether the Ministry will consider increasing the number of PEGs so as to attract more Singaporean doctors to return home after their studies to serve in the healthcare sector.
*60.

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) how many shipyards in Singapore are actively performing building, conversion or repair works for vessels; and (b) how does the Government regulate sound sustainability practices in ship building, design, and retrofitting to ensure these are consistently carried out in our shipyards.

*61.
*61.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the new Code of Practice on Chief Executives’ and Board of Directors’ Workplace Safety and Health Duties will require company management to implement systems to ensure the safety of transport for workers to their worksites; (b) if it does, what safety standards are companies required to meet in terms of transport safety; and (c) if not, why not.

*62.
*62.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Prime Minister (a) how many Singaporeans and permanent residents have registered for PayNow, Scan and Pay or similar cashless payment platforms that are currently available in the market; (b) what is the average percentage use of each of these platforms since their launch; (c) how many scam cases involving Scan and Pay transactions have been reported to-date; and (d) what are the measures taken to prevent perpetrators from victimising Scan and Pay users.

*63.
*63.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Education (a) how many students does the Moot Parliament Programme (MPP) take in each year; (b) what is the rationale for limiting MPP participation only to Year 3 and Year 4 students from schools offering School-based Gifted Education or the Integrated Programme; and (c) whether the Ministry will consider expanding MPP to allow participation from more schools.

No.

72 20 OCTOBER 2022 11 *64.


Mr Seah Kian Peng: To ask the Minister for Manpower in light of new migrant worker dormitories to be built by the Government (a) whether such a move will crowd out private operators; and (b) what are the reasons for the Government venturing into what appears to be private sector space.

*65.

Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for Manpower whether dependant passes have been issued to same-sex spouses or partners of work pass holders.
* 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: Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill.

(President's recommendation signified).

2.

Minister for Home Affairs: Penal Code (Amendment) Bill.

3.

Minister for Social and Family Development: Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Amendment No.

3) Bill.

4.

Minister for National Development: Housing and Development (Amendment) Bill.

No.
No.

72 20 OCTOBER 2022 12 ORDER OF THE DAY 1. International [Bill No.

26/2022] – (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance) – Second Reading.

(Amendment) Development Association Bill MEMORANDUM Matter proposed to be raised on the Motion for the Adjournment (SO 2(8)(b)).

Ms Poh Li San (Sembawang) : Preparing Singapore for Dementia.

QUESTIONS FOR WRITTEN ANSWER 1.


Mr Derrick Goh: To ask the Prime Minister (a) what is the progress of our digital banks in incorporating innovation to serve customer needs and reach underserved segments thus far; (b) whether the COVID-19 pandemic has had a material impact on its progress; and (c) what further measures will MAS recommend for digital banks to accelerate greater financial inclusion in Singapore.

2.
2.

Miss Rachel Ong: To ask the Prime Minister (a) in each of the past three years, what is the total amount of money lost by migrant workers to scams; (b) whether the MAS framework for equitable sharing of losses arising from scams includes migrant workers; and (c) whether special consideration will be made for migrant workers in the compensation of losses, given their vulnerability to scammers claiming to be from Government authorities.

3.
3.

Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Prime Minister whether pension payouts for retirees on Government pension schemes can be reviewed to take into account the rising cost of living and inflation.

4.

Mr Liang Eng Hwa: To ask the Prime Minister in view of the rising cost of living, whether the Government has plans to review the pension payouts for retirees under the Government pension schemes.

5.
5.

Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Prime Minister of the current outstanding mortgage loans financed by commercial banks, what is the percentage of borrowers who are on fixed rate mortgages and floating rate mortgages for (i) HDB flats and (ii) private residential properties respectively.

No.

72 20 OCTOBER 2022 13 6.


Ms Hazel Poa: To ask the Prime Minister (a) whether civil servants are allowed to hold concurrent appointments with foreign governments; (b) if so, under what circumstances will they be allowed to do so; (c) how many are currently holding such concurrent appointments and with which foreign governments; and (d) what measures are in place to prevent these civil servants from being targets of influence operations.

7.
7.

Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Prime Minister of the current stock of private residential properties (a) what is the percentage of properties that have an outstanding mortgage loan; (b) what is the average Loan-To-Value ratio of such mortgage loans; and (c) what is the percentage of such mortgage loans that are used to finance (i) owner-occupied properties and (ii) investment properties respectively.

8.
8.

Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs (a) in each of the last 10 years, how many requests for assistance are received by Singapore overseas missions for cases of overseas Singaporeans believed to be missing; and (b) what is the breakdown on the types of missing persons cases for which help is sought.

9.

Miss Rachel Ong: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs what is the percentage of fire incidents in HDB flats that spread to or whose after-effects affect neighbouring units.

10.
10.

Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs whether the Ministry will consider the merits of introducing legislation to prevent pedestrians crossing roads whilst interacting with their cell phones or other mobile devices at the same time to ensure their safety and that of other road users.

11.
11.

Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what are the main reasons why approximately 40% of newly-admitted prison inmates do not request to participate in the Yellow Ribbon Community Project; and (b) whether there are efforts to lower this percentage such that vulnerable families and dependants are able to receive timely access to assistance when required.

12.
12.

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) how many scams related to cryptocurrency have been reported annually over the past three years; (b) whether there is a rising trend; and (c) what is being done to combat such scams.

13.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry what is the total economic value, both direct and indirect, created by the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix recently held in October 2022.

No.

72 20 OCTOBER 2022 14 14.


Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry whether he can provide an assessment of the take-up rates of the provisions of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership by companies to date.

15.
15.

Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) whether an update can be provided on the sustainability efforts and performance for the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix; (b) who is performing the full sustainability audit previously announced; and (c) when is the audit expected to be completed.

16.
16.

Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry what is the Ministry’s assessment of the take-up rates of the provisions of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership by companies, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises.

17.
Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for Transport in light of the significant increase in car registrations for car-sharing or self-driving services (a) whether this has contributed to the increasing prices of Certificates of Entitlement; (b) how does this affect road usage; (c) whether the Government will keep car ownership and transport affordable for the people who need it; and (d) whether there are plans to develop the car-sharing industry as a solution for large families or those with mobility problems to get around.
18.

Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Transport what further measures are there to minimise indiscriminate parking of shared bicycles, especially where these bicycles obstruct pedestrians.

19.
19.

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) how many commuters have been issued with the Caring SG Commuters lanyard and card that identifies them as commuters with invisible medical conditions or disabilities; (b) whether LTA has received any feedback since the launch of this initiative; and (c) whether there are any plans to further improve the initiative.

20.
20.

Dr Shahira Abdullah: To ask the Minister for Transport whether the number of public transport commuters with special needs has increased over the years.

21.

Dr Shahira Abdullah: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) whether there has been an increase in the number of purchases for special needs vehicles such as retrofitted vehicles that can cater to wheelchairs; and (b) whether there are subsidies for dedicated transport service providers to purchase these vehicles.

No.

72 20 OCTOBER 2022 15 22.


Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) what is the current number of reportable facilities that are required to submit an emissions report; (b) what percentage of emissions in Singapore do the reportable facilities contribute to; and (c) whether the percentage of emissions contributed by reportable facilities are increasing or decreasing.

23.
23.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Education (a) whether the Ministry has studied the effectiveness of CONNECT Plan in retaining teachers; (b) if so, what are the findings of such studies; and (c) if no such studies have been done, why does the Ministry continue to implement the CONNECT Plan.

24.
24.

Mr Derrick Goh: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what is the existing number of vacancies in (i) kindergartens (ii) childcare centres and (iii) infant care centres in the vicinity of Yishun Spring BTO estate; and (b) whether the Ministry can meet the increase in demand from a large number of new residents moving into the estate in the second half of 2022.

25.
Ms Poh Li San: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether the 860 unique applicants for transitional shelters in 2021 is consistent with the annual applications in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022; (b) if not, what are the respective annual numbers of applicants; (c) from 2018 to 2022, what is the average duration of stay at these shelters annually; (d) what is the basic demographic information of the applicants; and (e) what are the types of accommodation which they move out to upon discharge.
26.

Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what support systems are in place for adults with disabilities when their sole caregiver is unable to care for them; and (b) how will the Ministry’s initiatives help to ensure that adults with disabilities have a guardian and are taken care of financially.

27.
27.

Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development whether evening care can be provided for adults with disabilities so that their caregivers such as their elderly parents have time to rest.

28.
28.

Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development whether the whistle-blower policy to encourage individuals to report to the Public Guardian on suspected ill-treatment under the Mental Capacity Act 2008, can be extended to cases of Lasting Power of Attorney execution by individuals who have mental capacity yet may be pressured into doing so under duress or undue influence, so that they can be advised to make independent and informed decisions.

No.
No.

72 20 OCTOBER 2022 16 29.

Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: To ask the Minister for Health in view of the increasing number of ageing citizens without family members who are able or willing to take care of them in their senior years, what are the Ministry’s plans to work with agencies from other Ministries to encourage more Singaporeans to plan comprehensively, for example, through Lasting Power of Attorney, estate planning and Advanced Medical Directive.

30.
30.

Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Health whether more support can be given to elderly caregivers, especially those who are the sole caregiver to family members.

31.

Ms Hazel Poa: To ask the Minister for Health since the announcement of Nutri-Grade labelling requirements for beverages made on 30 December 2021, whether there is a reduction in sugar consumption through beverages and, if so, what is the reduction level.

32.
32.

Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for Health what precautions are in place to ensure that imported cough syrups made available for sale in Singapore are safe for consumption and do not contain unacceptable contaminants.

33.
33.

Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for Health in view of only two medical schools in India being on the list of recognised foreign medical schools in Singapore (a) how does the Ministry ensure that only the best candidates are recruited; (b) what checks are done to determine the authenticity of the doctor’s degrees; and (c) whether the recruitment agency or MOH Holdings is responsible for these checks.

34.
34.

Ms Hazel Poa: To ask the Minister for Health whether there will be any difference in fees paid to family doctors and healthcare clusters for locals and foreigners under the Healthier SG plan.

35.
35.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether the Ministry will consider reopening vaccination centres at community clubs and community centres in areas with higher numbers of older residents, so as to facilitate the implementation of the fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccination and for earlier doses as well; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider reopening the vaccination centre at Serangoon CC.

36.
36.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Health whether there is a need to toughen punishment for both importers and users of electronic vaporisers.

No.

72 20 OCTOBER 2022 17 37.


Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Health (a) in the last five years, what has been the annual number of foreign-trained doctors who are registered as new medical practitioners in Singapore; and (b) how many of these doctors are practising family medicine, broken down into (i) Singapore citizens (ii) permanent residents and (iii) non-residents.

38.
38.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Health given the existence of some cash-poor elderly persons living in private homes acquired decades ago (a) what proportion of private home residents are located within an eldercare centre service boundary currently; (b) what will that percentage be in 2024 based on the Government's current plans in relation to eldercare centres; and (c) what percentage of the residents living in the Serangoon Gardens estate are within an eldercare centre service boundary.

39.
Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether there are circumstances where the more efficacious rather than cheaper medicine can qualify for inclusion in the Rare Diseases Fund; (b) if so, what are these circumstances; (c) what threshold of acceptable evidence that the medicine is likely to substantially extend a patient's lifespan and improve their quality of life is required; and (d) whether the Government will consider creating a tiered support model which provides partial support for treatments that can be more efficacious but may not be the cheapest available.
40.

Ms Poh Li San: To ask the Minister for National Development with regard to HDB rental housing applications (a) what is the current average waiting time for (i) divorced parents and (ii) unwed parents; and (b) whether the Government will consider studying the possibility of implementing a housing programme to provide unwed parents and victim-survivors of family violence who have no place to go, with stable housing for at least two years, alongside with support services.

41.
41.

Ms Poh Li San: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) in the past five years, how many applications to rent a flat from HDB have been received annually from single unwed parents who are aged under 21 years old; (b) what have been the outcomes of these applications; (c) what are the top reasons for their rejection; and (d) if such data is not being collected, whether the Ministry will start collecting it.

42.
42.

Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: To ask the Minister for National Development of the 230,000 HDB flats built between 1987 and 1997 that are eligible for HDB’s Home Improvement Programme (HIP) (a) what is the percentage of flats that have been announced for selection to undergo HIP; (b) what is the percentage of flats that have completed HIP; and (c) whether there will be delays to the selection for and completion of HIP for the remaining eligible flats.

No.

72 20 OCTOBER 2022 18 43.
Mr Chong Kee Hiong: To ask the Minister for National Development regarding the relocation of free-roaming chickens which are currently in abundance, from Sin Ming Court to farms, and the limit of 10 non- commercial poultry that each premise can accommodate (a) what measures will NParks provide to assist in expediting this relocation; and (b) what procedures does NParks have in place to expedite the implementation of such measures to help reduce the noise disturbance which residents have repeatedly given feedback on.
44.

Mr Chong Kee Hiong: To ask the Minister for National Development regarding the free-roaming chickens at Sin Ming Court (a) whether NParks will provide support in controlling the chicken population through the use of chicken contraceptive feed known as Ovistop as their relocation to farms is progressing slowly due to constraints; and (b) if so, whether NParks will absorb the cost of engaging a contractor to carry out this exercise.

45.
45.

Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for National Development how many bedrooms of HDB flats owned by permanent residents have been rented out in each of the last 10 years.

46.

Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for National Development to date, how many former permanent residents have been required to dispose of their HDB flats after renouncing their permanent residency or remaining abroad without a valid re-entry permit.

47.
47.

Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for National Development whether the Ministry will consider mandating the inspection of HDB flats that are more than 40 years old and providing the necessary assistance to owners and tenants for the maintenance works as most of these flats have spalling concrete issues.

48.
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether HDB requires flat buyers to obtain a HDB Loan Eligibility (HLE) letter or an approved bank loan before booking a new flat, obtaining an option-to-purchase to buy a resale flat or placing the downpayment for a flat; (b) in each year since 2016, how many flat buyers have booked a flat before obtaining a HLE letter or approved bank loan; and (c) how does HDB ensure that prospective flat buyers are able to afford the necessary payments for the flat before processing the sale.
No.

72 20 OCTOBER 2022 19 49.
Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) how many cases of paintwork peeling off or debonding prematurely from the external walls and facades of recently completed BTO flats have been registered with HDB in the past five years; (b) what steps has HDB taken to rectify such cases in BTO estates that have been handed over to Town Councils in the recent past; and (c) whether Town Councils which undertake repair works in these circumstances will be reimbursed by HDB.

50.
50.

Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) to date, how many appeals for eligibility to receive Community Development Council Vouchers have been made; (b) how many of such appeals have been successful; and (c) what are the common grounds for such appeals.

51.
51.

Ms Hazel Poa: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth whether the Ministry has data on the number of grassroots leaders who own or manage companies involved in (i) town council contracts (ii) other Government contracts and (iii) operation of coffee shops respectively and, if so, what is the data.

52.
52.

Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth whether the Ministry will consider extending the validity of the Community Development Council Vouchers Scheme beyond the current expiry date of 31 December 2022.

53.

Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Manpower whether there has been any detection of labour trafficking in and through Singapore in the last one year.

54.
54.

Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) in each of the last three years, how many Malaysian confinement nannies have been granted work permits; and (b) what is the average duration of employment.

55.

Ms Hazel Poa: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) how many Singaporean postgraduates are there in our workforce; and (b) what are the median salaries earned by Singapore postgraduates according to (i) specialty and (ii) industry respectively.

56.
56.

Mr Liang Eng Hwa: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether prices of bed space in migrant worker dormitories have increased; (b) how have prices changed between pre-COVID-19 pandemic and today; and (c) whether the supply of bed space is able to meet the demand from businesses.

No.

72 20 OCTOBER 2022 20 57.


Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Manpower what is the current median duration taken to process and conclude (i) salary and (ii) wrongful dismissal claims referred to the Employment Claims Tribunal.

58.
58.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) since 2017, what percentage of claimants in cases where Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) mediation failed (i) proceeded to lodge their claims with the Employment Claims Tribunal (ECT) and (ii) succeeded at the ECT; and (b) whether such claimants in failed TADM mediations are automatically issued with a Claim Referral Certificate (CRC) or whether TADM can choose not to issue a CRC.
2022 S. L. 705 PAPERS PRESENTED Date Presented Employment of Foreign Manpower (Work Passes) (Amendment No.

3) Regulations 2022 ..... 05 October 2022 S. L. 706 Food (Amendment No.

2) Regulations 2022 ..... 05 October 2022 S. S. 320 321 S. L. 707 Appointment of Commissioner of Building Control ..... 10 October 2022 Appointment of Covering Officer Commissioner of Building Control for ..... 10 October 2022 COVID-19 Measures) (Temporary (Reopening – Control Order) (Amendment No.
7) Regulations 2022 ..... 12 October 2022 S. L. 708 Singapore Armed Forces (Summary Trial) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 ..... 12 October 2022 S. L. 709 Singapore Armed Forces (Central Welfare Fund) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 ..... 12 October 2022 S. L. 710 Singapore Armed (SAVER- Premium Fund) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 Forces ..... 12 October 2022 No.

72 20 OCTOBER 2022 21 PAPERS PRESENTED - continued 2022 S. L. 711 Date Presented Singapore Armed Forces Servicemen) 2022.
(Ranks of (Amendment) Regulations ..... 12 October 2022 S. L. 712 MediShield Life Scheme (Amendment No.

2) Regulations 2022 ..... 18 October 2022 S. L. 713 Central Provident Fund (MediSave Account Withdrawals) 4) Regulations 2022 (Amendment No.

..... 18 October 2022 Pres.

Co. 66 Pres.

Co. 67 Pres.

Co. 68 Report of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights Statutes (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill [Bill No.
24/2022] the on Report of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights on the Business Trusts (Amendment) Bill [Bill No.

22/2022] Report of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights on the Accountants (Amendment) Bill [Bill No.

25/2022] ..... 18 October 2022 ..... 18 October 2022 ..... 18 October 2022