Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1694844406732.pdf (Singapore)
FOURTEENTH PARLIAMENT OF SINGAPORE ___________________ FIRST SESSION ___________________ ORDER PAPER TUESDAY, 2 AUGUST 2022 No.

66 1.30 pm 1 QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER* *1.

Prof Koh Lian Pin: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) whether guidelines on managing heat stress at workplaces are regularly updated to incorporate the latest scientific evidence; and (b) whether these guidelines will consider any preliminary findings of the third national climate change study.

*2.
*2.

Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment in view of the changing climate and increasing frequency of extreme weather events, in particular extreme heat, what targeted measures are being taken to mitigate the impact of these events on heat vulnerable groups such as the elderly or lower income groups who are more at risk of adverse effects due to physiological or social obstacles to cooling solutions.

*3.
*3.

Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) whether studies are being conducted or will be conducted to better understand the distribution of heat and energy inequality in our communities; and (b) what are the long-term plans to build heat resilient communities.

*4.
*4.

Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) whether Singapore's island-wide temperature and urban heat island projections require revision in light of the ongoing climate crisis and recent heat waves reported around the world; and (b) what projections exist for how future temperature trends will affect (i) indoor temperatures (ii) building ventilation requirements and (iii) usage of air-conditioning.

No.

66 2 AUGUST 2022 2 *5.

*6.

*7.


Prof Koh Lian Pin: To ask the Minister for National Development whether an update can be provided on the progress and impact of the initiative to plant more trees in our industrial estates to help cool these industrial estates and create a more conducive work environment.
Prof Koh Lian Pin: To ask the Minister for National Development whether the Ministry has conducted studies to assess what species of trees and other vegetation may provide the most optimal shading and cooling benefits for mitigating rising temperatures and the urban heat island effect, as part of the One Million Trees movement.
Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what studies have been conducted on the ambient interior temperature of HDB flats across different times of the day and weather conditions; (b) whether these temperatures are expected to increase given climate change trends and, if so by how much; and (c) whether such trends are considered when setting out design specifications for newer HDB projects.

*8.
*8.

Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry in view of the long-term geopolitical events affecting oil prices and the high volatility of energy prices, whether the Government will consider temporarily bringing the energy market under state control to keep electricity prices more stable for consumers and businesses in Singapore.

*9.
*9.

Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry: To ask the Minister for Manpower whether the CPF interest rate will be increased for the next few years to compensate for the high inflation rate that is expected to last for a considerable period so as to strengthen the retirement adequacy of Singaporeans and seniors.

*10.
*10.

Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Minister for Manpower in computing the CPF Ordinary Account interest rate based on the three-month average of major local banks’ interest rates (a) which are the banks identified as major local banks and what are the criteria for selection; (b) what are the types of interest rates and parameters used in the determination; and (c) whether there has been a change in the banks or interest rate parameters used since the formula was introduced.

*11.
*11.

Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry with regard to the criteria for the new Energy Efficiency Grant for SMEs (a) what is the Ministry’s intent and approach towards it; and (b) whether the Ministry plans to encourage more companies to be more energy efficient at a systems level (ie a total solution towards gaining energy efficiency) by tiering the grants or focusing on specific capital investments in order to gain momentum first.

No.

66 2 AUGUST 2022 3 *12.


Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Health for each year in the past five years, what is the average and median nurse-to-patient ratio for (i) general wards and (ii) intensive care units respectively.

*13.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what steps has the Ministry taken to reduce the administrative workload of nurses in restructured hospitals; (b) whether additional steps will be taken; and (c) if so, what are they.

*14.
*14.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) how many SMEs have engaged with Centres of Innovation in local Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) to support their research and development efforts; (b) whether the Ministry can provide a breakdown of the successfully commercialised ideas by SMEs in partnership with IHLs according to industry sectors; and (c) how can SMEs’ engagement with IHLs be boosted to better tap on the expertise and technological capabilities of IHLs.

*15.
*15.

Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Minister for Transport given passenger traffic at Changi Airport in June 2022 has reached the target of 50% of pre-pandemic levels, whether the Government has reassessed passenger traffic targets for end- 2022 and 2023 and, if so what are they.

*16.
*16.

Mr Shawn Huang Wei Zhong: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) what is the current progress of the re-opening of Changi Airport’s air routes; (b) how does Changi Airport currently rank amongst regional and global air hubs on connectivity and passenger volume; and (c) what is the projected progress of the re-opening of Changi Airport’s air routes by end of 2022.

*17.
*17.

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan: To ask the Minister for Education whether the Ministry will consider prohibiting those who had committed or convicted of sexual offences and violent crimes from practising as an educator, tuition teacher or enrichment teacher.

*18.
*18.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what roles do employers and service buyers play in mitigating the risk of abuse faced by security officers; and (b) whether there are plans to review employers’ and service buyers’ practices to mitigate the risk of abuse of security officers by ensuring that security rules imposed are not unreasonable and through better deployment of technology to minimise in-person interactions with the officers.

No.

66 2 AUGUST 2022 4 *19.


Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether the enhanced protection for security officers under the amendments to the Private Security Industry Act are sufficient to deter cases of abuse; and (b) what is the plan to help members of the public internalise anti-abuse messages and treat security officers with more respect.

*20.
*20.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Health whether the Government will consider working with insurers to develop Integrated Shield Plans (IPs) that cover home nursing care and types of outpatient services currently not provided for by IPs in the market, such as rehabilitative services.

*21.
*21.

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information with regard to the Report of the Auditor-General for FY 2021/22, how will the Ministry structure future tenders under the Whole-of- Government Period Contract and Framework Agreement to ensure a good spread of business opportunities for all the vendors in the appointed panel in order to build up players in the creative services industry and encourage vendors to bid for future tenders.

*22.
*22.

Ms Yeo Wan Ling: To ask the Minister for Education (a) what is the current percentage of the annual SkillsFuture funding that is left unutilised; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider allowing recipients with unused credits to contribute their credits to a pool to allow others to tap on the unused credits.

*23.
*23.

Mr Ang Wei Neng: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance in light of persistent high inflation rates in the last few months, whether the Ministry will consider (i) bringing the distribution of CDC vouchers forward to the third quarter of 2022 instead of January 2023 and (ii) issuing $100 CDC vouchers to every Singaporean aged more than 21 years old instead of to each household.

*24.
*24.

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance whether Whole-of-Government Period Contracts and Framework Agreements favour large multinational companies that can offer the full set of services in tender requirements at the expense of local small and medium enterprises and independent contractors who may potentially offer a smaller set of the services at more competitive prices.

*25.
*25.

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) whether the Ministry conducts contractor concentration analysis for Whole-of-Government Period Contracts and Framework Agreements called by various Government Procuring Entities; and (b) what is the average share of the top vendor that is within the appointed panel of vendors across all public sector agencies by its procurement value.

No.

66 2 AUGUST 2022 5 *26.


Mr Liang Eng Hwa: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what is the current infant care capacity taken up by enrolled children; and (b) what more can be done to spread the demand for infant care places in popular areas to other areas with capacity to ensure that such demand for infant care places is met.

*27.
Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance in relation to the Report of the Auditor-General for FY 2021/22 about the price reasonableness of goods and services procured under the Emergency Procurement procedure (a) whether there has been full compliance with the Government Procurement Regulations 2014 that require publication of the notices of award within a 72-day period; (b) if not, what are the reasons for not making such disclosures; and (c) in cases identified to be non-compliant of the Regulations, what remediation steps have or will be undertaken.
*28.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Minister for Transport in view of the new licence granted for bike sharing, what are the measures taken to ensure that there will not be any illegal parking or dumping of shared bicycles.

*29.
*29.

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether there has been an increase in the number of young people seeking help for mental health issues in the Institute of Mental Health in the past year; and (b) if so, whether the establishment of a second hospital specialising in mental health will be considered and evaluated by the Inter-agency Taskforce on Mental Health and Well-Being.

*30.
*30.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Health whether there are plans for follow-up actions in relation to published findings that some junior doctors have been pressured to under-record their working hours.

*31.
Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Minister for Transport in light of Grab’s latest round of updates to its terms to reduce passengers’ grace period for ride hailing (a) what is the type and extent of supervision that the Government maintains over major ride hailing platforms, and particularly over the latter’s ability to unilaterally change their consumer-facing terms; (b) whether the Government regulates the number of such platforms operating in Singapore; and (c) if so, whether it is time to allow greater competition.
*32.

Ms Mariam Jaafar: To ask the Minister for Transport in light of the imposition by Grab of a waiting fee that is charged automatically to Grab commuters for making their assigned driver wait for more than three minutes (a) whether such a change in fee structure requires the approval of the Ministry; and (b) if so, whether a minimum period is required between the fee change announcement and its implementation.

No.

66 2 AUGUST 2022 6 *33.
Mr Darryl David: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether the Ministry can provide an update on the number of patients requiring kidney dialysis in the last five years; (b) how many of these patients have been able to secure a kidney transplant; (c) whether there is a coordinated programme to manage issues of kidney dialysis and kidney disease at the national level; and (d) how does the Ministry coordinate and partner with other organisations such as the National Kidney Foundation and Kidney Dialysis Foundation in such matters.
*34.

Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) how many accused persons have been ordered to be tagged electronically as a condition of their bail since it was introduced in 2018; (b) of these accused persons, how many have absconded whilst being electronically tagged; and (c) whether there is any plan to extend the use of electronic tagging to all accused persons who are facing serious charges so as to reduce the chances of them absconding.

*35.
*35.

Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Manpower whether the concessionary levy for a migrant domestic worker may be extended to Singaporeans who are living with their elderly or disabled parents who are not Singaporeans but are Singapore permanent residents or Long Term Visit Pass holders.

*36.
*36.

Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what is the estimated waiting time for an interim HDB rental flat or a flat under the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (PPHS) to be allocated to those affected by completion delays in BTO projects; and (b) whether the waiting time for such allocations has improved since January 2022.

*37.
*37.

Mr Shawn Huang Wei Zhong: To ask the Minister for National Development what are the design features and materials used by HDB to ensure that HDB flats will continue to be relevant and easy to maintain throughout the lease lifetime.

*38.
*38.

Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) when were the $30,000 grant under Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme and $10,000 moving allowance established; (b) how were these figures arrived at; (c) how often are these figures reviewed; and (d) does the Ministry take into account the prevailing economic situation to ensure that the grants and the moving allowance will be in line with the current market expenses at the time when the residents move into their new place.

No.
No.

66 2 AUGUST 2022 7 *39.

Mr Pritam Singh: To ask the Minister for National Development of those HDB flat owners who rent out their HDB flats for passive income whilst owning private residential property, how many of them are (i) Singaporeans and (ii) permanent residents as at 31 December 2011 and 31 December 2021 respectively.

*40.
*40.

Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment with regard to the new Energy Efficiency Grant for SMEs (a) what is the Ministry’s assessment on the current adequacy for energy efficient accreditation of commercial equipment such as refrigerators; and (b) whether there are plans to expand the scale of accreditation to provide more purchase options for SMEs.

*41.
*41.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) whether the Ministry will update the Singapore Green Plan 2030 and climate targets following the outcomes of the World Ocean Summit; (b) if so, what are the updates; and (c) if not, why.

*42.
*42.

Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) what are Singapore’s longer-term food security strategies for 2050 and beyond; and (b) whether and how these take into account (i) global population trends which will shape future global food demand and (ii) the impact of climate change on global food production.

*43.
*43.

Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry in view of the expected recovery in visitor arrivals to between four and six million visitors in 2022 (a) what is the current and end-year target levels of employment for the hospitality industry as compared to the pre-COVID-19 pandemic period; and (b) whether any forms of assistance are being provided to support hiring by companies to meet the increase in demand and, if so, what are they.

*44.
*44.

Mr Seah Kian Peng: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether there is an overpopulation of animals such as monkeys and otters in recent years; and (b) what is the Ministry’s assessment of the disamenities to such caused overpopulation.

to public properties and residents’ lifestyles due *45.
Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information (a) how has Singapore's e-sports scene grown during the COVID-19 pandemic; and (b) whether the Ministry can provide an update on whether the industry has managed to fill the estimated 2,700 info- communications and media professionals to support the games sector, which was identified in IMDA’s Annual Survey on Infocomm Media Manpower 2019.

No.

66 2 AUGUST 2022 8 *46.


Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) what safety measures will be put in place for air taxi flights in Singapore; and (b) how will our regulatory and insurance frameworks need to evolve in tandem with urban air mobility solutions.

*47.
*47.

Ms Mariam Jaafar: To ask the Minister for Transport in light of the anticipated recovery of the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) sector and to prevent distorting COE demand and prices, whether a separate category of COE can be designated for vehicles to be brought in for large MICE events.

*48.
Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Education (a) in the past three years, how many schools have organised programmes for their students to (i) engage with People’s Association grassroots organisation and (ii) work with Members of Parliament (MP), such as attachment programmes and volunteering at their Meet-the-People sessions; (b) how many students are currently involved in such programmes; (c) whether schools are empowered to reach out to any MP to organise such programmes for their students, regardless of party affiliation; and (d) if not, why.
*49.

Ms Hazel Poa: To ask the Minister for Education with regard to the staff in Hwa Chong Institution who delivered discriminatory content (a) what are the duties that he is retaining; and (b) what safeguard is in place to ensure that such incident does not happen again.

*50.
*50.

Mr Xie Yao Quan: To ask the Minister for Education regarding the Hwa Chong Institution school counsellor who made discriminatory statements against the LGBTQ community during a sexuality education lesson (a) when does the Ministry expect to conclude investigations into the incident; and (b) whether the Ministry is aware of any student who has been personally affected by the statements and has come forward to seek help.
* 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.

No.
No.

66 2 AUGUST 2022 9 MINISTERIAL STATEMENT 1.

Minister for Defence: Liability and Contributions of New Citizens to National Service.

AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF PUBLIC BUSINESS Introduction of Government Bill 1.

Minister for Culture, Community and Youth: National Symbols Bill.

ORDERS OF THE DAY 1.

Singapore Armed Forces and Other Matters Bill [Bill No.

15/2022] – (Minister for Defence) – Second Reading.

2.

Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Amendment No.

2) Bill [Bill No.
2) Bill [Bill No.

16/2022] – (Minister for Defence) – Second Reading.

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

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang (Nee Soon) : A More Inclusive Workplace for Breastfeeding Mothers.

QUESTIONS FOR WRITTEN ANSWER 1.


Mr Shawn Huang Wei Zhong: To ask the Prime Minister whether the Government is able to provide a comparative table of median debt-to-income ratio of Singaporeans and citizens living in the top 10 cities ranked by gross domestic product for the past three years.

No.

66 2 AUGUST 2022 10 2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.


Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Prime Minister (a) whether the recent spate of cryptocurrency firms entering insolvency proceedings presents a systemic risk to Singapore’s financial system; (b) whether it is time to enhance cryptocurrency regulation beyond money laundering and terrorism financing to prudential regulation and investor protection; and (c) how does the above fit into any broader strategy to develop a cryptocurrency hub or sector in Singapore.
Ms Ng Ling Ling: To ask the Prime Minister given the recent increase in interest rates, what is MAS’ assessment on the risk of borrowers defaulting on loans financed through floating rate loan packages offered by local banks.

Ms Hazel Poa: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) how was the tax loophole of non-bare trusts discovered; and (b) when was it discovered.
Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance following the Ministry’s 2012 and 2015 papers on Intergenerational Income Mobility In Singapore (a) whether similar studies have been carried out yielding data for recent years; (b) whether such studies will be expanded to include mobility in health, wealth and opportunities; and (c) whether there are plans to commission independent bodies to conduct and publish complementary investigations.
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance with regard to the Report of the Auditor-General for FY 2021/22 and in view of repeated lapses across various agencies concerning contract variations and star rate items (a) what steps have the Ministries taken in previous years to minimise such lapses; (b) whether those actions have been effective; and (c) whether the Ministry will consider setting up a task force to look into this matter and propose policy changes to prevent future lapses.
Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for Defence for each year from 2000, what percentage of full-time national servicemen have been permanent residents.

Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) how many door-to-door donation scams are reported since 2021; (b) what is the proportion of cases where the perpetrators are identified and brought to justice; and (c) what is being done to help educate the public and reduce the incidence of such scams.
Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for Law (a) whether there are any good class bungalows (GCBs) bought by non-citizens under special approval since 2000; and (b) if so, how many GCBs have been approved for such purchase.

No.

66 2 AUGUST 2022 11 10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.


Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for Law in view of reports on $200,000 per month rental for a Queen Astrid Park good class bungalow (GCB) (a) whether there is now a greater rental demand for colonial black- and-white bungalows; (b) how many colonial black-and-white bungalows exceed 20,000 square feet in land area; and (c) what is the land size, current lease duration and monthly rental for each of these bungalows.
Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Law for each of the last five years (a) how many cases were registered with the Community Mediation Centre for mediation; (b) what is the breakdown on the source of referrals for these cases; (c) how many cases did not proceed for mediation due to a party refusing to participate; and (d) whether the success rate of 88% is consistent over the past five years and if not, what are the respective rates.
Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry in light of Singapore’s participation in deep sea mining activities (a) what environmental impact assessments have been conducted and safeguards put in place to protect the marine environment against adverse effects of deep seabed mining activities; and (b) what is the Government's assessment of any preliminary surveys and explorations conducted by licensed Singapore companies on deep sea mining.
Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) what are the criteria used to assess the potential cost and benefit of supporting Singapore companies entering the deep seabed mining industry; (b) who are the stakeholders consulted in the decision-making process; and (c) what is the number of Singapore companies that are granted a licence under the Deep Seabed Mining Act and are involved in deep seabed mining.
Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) under what circumstances will companies be punished for contravening responsible deep sea mining practices under the Deep Seabed Mining Act 2015; and (b) to date, how many companies have been found guilty of offences under this Act.
Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) whether the Committee Against Profiteering (CAP) takes concrete enforcement actions against businesses that are found to have made unjustified price increases for essential goods and services using the impending GST increase as an excuse; (b) if so, what follow-up enforcement actions will be taken to ensure that offending businesses that repeatedly gets flagged out for unjustified increases comply with guidelines on pricing practices; and (c) whether CAP intends to release the names of these offending businesses.
No.

66 16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.
22.

2 AUGUST 2022 12 Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) whether the Government has studied how the (i) quantum and (ii) proportion of household cost of living attributable to energy consumption, whether directly or indirectly, is projected to change in the short-term and long-term, in light of international geopolitical developments and the ongoing climate crisis; and (b) if so, whether the Ministry can share the current assessment, broken down by decile of household income.
Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry from 2018 to date (a) how many complaints on alleged price hikes and potential anti-competitive behaviour has the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) received annually; and (b) how many investigations on potential anti-competitive behaviour has CCCS initiated on its own.
Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry with regard to the import of renewable energy from Laos (a) what are the targets under the trial for the Lao PDR-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Project (LTMS-PIP); (b) whether Singapore will contribute to Laotian development of renewable energy to ensure energy resiliency for Singapore; (c) if so, how; and (d) whether Singapore will consider foreign direct investment in Laos to help with the maturity of the sector.
Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) how many ship-to-shore drone trials have taken place since the launch of the Maritime Drone Estate in 2021; and (b) whether the Ministry expects a commercial ship- to-shore drone service to materialise soon.
Mr Shawn Huang Wei Zhong: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) whether he can provide an update on LTA’s implementation of the Red-Amber-Green (RAG) arrows at all feasible traffic junctions to replace discretionary right turns; (b) what are the accident trends at these traffic junctions following RAG implementation; and (c) whether LTA has plans for other programmes to further reduce accident rates.
Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) since 2018, how many applicants for Private Hire Car Driver’s Vocational Licence (PDVL) have been unsuccessful because of past criminal history; (b) how many of them are barred from applying for PDVLs because of their convictions of less serious offences; and (c) what is the average period of disbarment of such applicants before they are successful in attaining the PDVL.
Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) whether the recent heat wave and rising temperatures have seen an increase in sea levels; and (b) what measures Singapore has in place to cope with rising sea levels.

No.

66 2 AUGUST 2022 13 23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.


Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment how is Singapore bracing itself for higher and more volatile temperatures and more unpredictable thundershower patterns.

Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment whether the rainfall over the past few weeks coupled with the high day-temperatures have increased the risk of contracting dengue and extending the number of clusters.
Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment regarding the holistic master planning of the 390-hectare Lim Chu Kang area into a high-tech agri-food cluster (a) how many existing farms have been identified to be part of the cluster; (b) what are the criteria for selecting farms for the cluster; and (c) whether there are plans to include conventional soil-based or organic farming into the cluster.
Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment in view of the implementation of Project Wolbachia in more housing estates what are the plans of the Ministry to ensure the sufficient supply of male Wolbachia-Aedes mosquitoes so that the relative success of the project in terms of dengue suppression rates currently seen in the pilot estates can be maintained.
Dr Wan Rizal: To ask the Minister for Education in view of strengthening the mental resilience of students, whether schools and the Institutes of Higher Learning have resumed their overseas outdoor adventure programmes and trips.
Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: To ask the Minister for Education regarding the Auditor-General’s Office Report for the financial year 2021/22, whether there are plans to (i) recover potential overpayments of SkillsFuture Singapore agency grants from its outsourced service provider (ii) replace the outsourced service provider with another and (iii) bring the grants management payments function in-house.
Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: To ask the Minister for Education with regard to outstanding Skills Development Levy (SDL) collections owed by companies (a) what is the current breakdown by (i) number of public and private companies respectively and (ii) number of multinational corporations and small to medium-sized enterprises respectively; and (b) whether the companies in SDL arrears have been simultaneously accessing SkillsFuture credits for their employees.

No.

66 2 AUGUST 2022 14 30.

31.

32.

33.

34.


35.

36.

37.

Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development whether the training programmes under SG Enable which are provided to employers who hire individuals with special needs, includes training on how to provide assurance to these individuals about their competence at their job.
Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development whether SG Enable has plans to partner companies and organisations with calm work environments that better suit special-needs individuals and enable them to work well.
Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) since its launch in May 2022, how many unique visitors have visited the FoodConnect Directory website; and (b) how does the Ministry intend to spread awareness of the FoodConnect Directory among those who need food provision assistance.
Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether the effort to implement digital disbursements to replace cash and supermarket vouchers at the Social Services Offices (SSOs) is hindered by low-income grantees who have no access to banking services; and (b) whether special bank accounts may be created for SSO recipients not currently in possession of a bank account in order to receive these disbursements.
Ms Mariam Jaafar: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development whether the Ministry is looking into allowing more foreign manpower to address the shortage of infant care teachers.
Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Minister for Health in light of the increased number of seniors who have sought assistance through helplines during the COVID-19 pandemic (a) whether there are Government programmes that follow up on these seniors who have sought helpline assistance over issues like pandemic fatigue and uncertainty; and (b) how does the Government intend to facilitate the restoration of routines and social activities for seniors, balancing the pandemic health risk with the mental wellness of seniors.
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Health for each year in the past five years, what is the median and average salary for nurses and ancillary care staff in (i) private hospitals and (ii) restructured hospitals respectively.

Ms Hazel Poa: To ask the Minister for Health what is the current life expectancy in Singapore by racial groups.

No.

66 2 AUGUST 2022 15 38.

39.

40.

41.

42.

43.

44.


Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what factors are taken into consideration in determining the removal allowance for residents affected by HDB’s Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme; and (b) whether the current removal allowance of $10,000 can be re- evaluated given rising cost pressures.
Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for National Development in each of the past five years (a) how many first-time applicants purchasing 3-room and 4-room HDB BTO flats who fulfil the eligibility criteria for HDB Home Loan Eligibility, are nonetheless unable to secure sufficient loan quantum to complete the purchase of their flats; (b) what are the reasons for them not being able to secure the loans; and (c) what housing options are provided to them and what is the take-up rate of these options.
Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for National Development in each of the last 10 years including 2022 to date what is the average rent per square foot for commercial HDB units located in HDB residential estates that are for (i) food and beverage businesses (ii) medical facilities and (iii) essential services respectively, broken down into units that are directly owned by HDB and units owned by private entities as HDB sold shop premises.
Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: To ask the Minister for National Development in each of the last five years, how many cases of ceiling leaks or wall leakages have been reported among the top-most units of HDB blocks where solar panels have been installed on the roof.
Ms Mariam Jaafar: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) for each year from 2020 till to-date, how many flats have been repossessed by HDB; (b) what proportion of these repossessed flats is due to failure to pay mortgages; and (c) what proportion of these repossessed flats has been listed for sale or sold.
Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information in light of the recent report that Singapore organisations are among the most targeted in the world by ransomware attacks, whether an update can be provided on the work by Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) in raising the cybersecurity posture of enterprises in Singapore, including focusing more efforts on preventive cybersecurity initiatives rather than to prioritise recovery.
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Ministry has data on whether companies that offer flexible working arrangements have a higher percentage of female employees; (b) if this data is not available, whether the Ministry intends to collect it; and (c) if not, why.

No.

66 45.
No.

66 45.

2 AUGUST 2022 16 Mr Shawn Huang Wei Zhong: To ask the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry is able to provide a comparative table of real wage trends for Singaporeans and citizens living in the top 20 cities ranked by gross domestic product.
PAPERS PRESENTED 2022 Date Presented S. L. 651 Food (Amendment) Regulations 2022 ..... 01 August 2022 S. 246 Housing and Development Board and its subsidiaries Financial Statements for the financial year ended 31 March 2022 ..... 01 August 2022 S. L. 652 Planning (Fees) (Amendment) Rules 2022 ..... 01 August 2022 S. L. 653 Planning (Qualified Persons) (Amendment) Rules 2022 ..... 01 August 2022 S. L. 654 and Services Tax Goods (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (General) ..... 01 August 2022 S. L. 655 Goods and Services Tax (Non-Taxable Government Supplies) (Amendment) Order 2022 ..... 01 August 2022