Committee of Supply – Head I (Ministry of Social and Family Development)

Resumption of Debate on Question [5 March 2019],

"That the total sum to be allocated for Head I of the Estimates be reduced by $100" – [Mr Seah Kian Peng].

Question again proposed.

The Chairman: Minister Desmond Lee.

The Minister for Social and Family Development (Mr Desmond Lee): Mr Chairman, I would like to thank Members for their thoughtful speeches yesterday evening. MSF will focus on three priority areas.

First, building a strong social compact, by strengthening family and community bonds and our collective resilience.

Second, building a more inclusive society, to enable people of all abilities to achieve their fullest potential. My colleague, Minister of State Sam Tan, will share more later.

Third, giving our children a good start in life, through affordable, accessible and quality preschool. My colleague, Senior Parliamentary Secretary Faishal Ibrahim, will speak on this later.

Sir, our social compact has evolved over the years. In the early days, there was a strong emphasis on self-reliance. Social assistance was minimal and community support was ground-up. As our economy developed, we experienced uneven income growth. We then introduced targeted social policies to give more support to those with less, and placed stronger emphasis on collective responsibility and the need for many helping hands.

As we face more challenges – an ageing population, shrinking family sizes and economic disruption and so on, individual and family efforts may sometimes not be enough. And so, over the last decade, we have shifted the balance decisively, with the Government and community shouldering a heavier responsibility. We now have broad-based transfers and subsidies that benefit the majority, as well as more targeted assistance for the low-income, vulnerable and those with specific needs. We have put in place trampolines to help people bounce back – in the words of Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam – and social safety nets for those who cannot care for themselves and who have little or no family support.

But even as our broad-based policies and schemes and our targeted means-tested support continue to uplift many low-income families, we need to do more to better support families who are bogged down by complex and often interlocking challenges. For such families, the consuming nature of their difficulties – addiction, incarceration, family violence, illness, divorce, mental health problems and so on, and often a combination of a number of the aforementioned – may make it difficult for them to access available opportunities, benefit from schemes and programmes, or respond effectively to help that is offered to them.

I know of a four-generation family – a teenage girl raised by her grandmother. She dropped out of school, had a son out of wedlock a few years ago when in lower Secondary. The girl’s son did not have any pre-school education until recently when social services intervened. Why is this girl looked after by her grandmother? Because her mother has been in and out of prison for various offences – out for a while and now in for a long-term imprisonment for a serious crime. Her father remains uncontactable for some time now and refuses to take responsibility for the family. Unfortunately, her grandmother is showing signs of dementia.

So, this is a family that faces very complex challenges which make it difficult for them to cope on their own despite many, many agencies and VWOs coming in to assist in different areas. The question is: how can we support such families with their existing needs and also ensure their next generation has a good start in life?

At COS last year, I shared that MSF would be partnering and working with other agencies and community groups to transform and integrate our social services and strengthen that important last-mile support for families, especially those with very complex difficulties, so that help can be provided in a more comprehensive, convenient and coordinated manner.

Ms Denise Phua and Mr Seah Kian Peng asked about our progress. At the Joint Segment on Opportunity yesterday, I described the ComLink that we will be setting up to support rental housing families and the Local Community Network pilot to wrap around support for at-risk youth and their families. MOE has also articulated the UPLIFT proposals to support students whose performance and absenteeism are worrying. All of these that we announced yesterday carry the DNA of integration and coordination – a different way of doing things in the social services.

So, let me now give this House an update on our broader level work across the entire social sector and, this is in a way, an interim report card.

Mr Chairman, in the course of the presentation, may I display some slides on the screens for Members' better understanding?

The Chairman: Yes, please. [Slides were shown to hon Members.]

Mr Desmond Lee: Thank you. Sir, the centre is a family with complex challenges, like the kind that I described earlier. They sometimes face issues beyond those that they are seeking help for. For example, if a family seeks help from HDB because of HDB rental arrears, it could be because a breadwinner has lost his job and the family is in financial difficulty, hence, running into difficulties with arrears.

We want to ensure that these families get the necessary information and referrals to the relevant agencies’ services, regardless of which agency they first approach in the community. So, even if they approach only HDB in the first instance and it is in relation to arrears, when the officer speaks to the family and understands that actually because of this and that, although it is beyond his remit and he assesses them for assistance on arrears, what he ought to be doing is to refer the family to, say, Workforce Singapore (WSG) or NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) to help the breadwinner with potential job matching and also to the Social Service Office (SSO) for financial assistance in the meantime.

We want each frontline agency in the community to be a potential gateway for families with complex needs to receive assistance from other social services, including those in the community.

By the end of this year, we will train 2,500 officers from various frontline agencies to identify a client’s broader needs and link the client to the relevant agencies. They include our frontline colleagues from the People’s Association (PA), HDB, WSG, NTUC’s e2i, Singapore Police Force (SPF), Singapore Prison Service (SPS), the Silver Generation Office (SGO) and the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC).

Over time, we will expand to include more ground agencies as well as VWOs and community partners.

Next, because the solution to families’ problems may rest with multiple agencies, one needs to make some adjustments before the other can give approval, families also need to travel to multiple touchpoints. And clients with complex problems are often asked to submit multiple documents or repeat their circumstances when they need help. We should not let this be a barrier to them seeking help. We have therefore established a single touchpoint where they can access multiple services. We will start with the SSO.

Some of our SSOs are already physically co-located with complementary services such as employment assistance and family services. We are using technology as well, to provide some of these services via video-conferencing links. You can see that on the screen – a Social Service Officer working with a client, addressing the assistance that the SSO can provide, but also linking the client through video conference to officers in other agencies so that there is direct face-to-face contact. And if the documents need to be shared, they can send it across.

By end this year, clients will be able to access financial, employment and housing services at all our 24 SSOs, either through physical co-location of services or video-conferencing links with HDB, WSG and NTUC’s e2i career coaches. By the second quarter of this year, clients will be able to access legal advisory services through video-conferencing at Boon Lay, Taman Jurong and Queenstown SSOs. This is part of a pilot with the Legal Aid Bureau.

We also observed that because agencies and VWOs are currently approached separately for specific issues – a family will approach HDB for housing-related concerns, approach SP Power Services for utilities issues, approach other departments for specific areas of needs – these agencies sometimes end up with a compartmentalised understanding on the family's challenges, rather than a holistic overview.

To address this, we are improving information and data sharing across agencies. We have established protocols with HDB and MOE. Why? To enable ComCare clients to be automatically considered for reduced HDB rental rates and assessed concurrently for MOE’s Financial Assistance Scheme (MOE FAS) for their school-going children. By the second half of this year, ComCare clients with young children will also be automatically assessed for childcare subsidy and financial assistance. This is work in progress and we will continue to expand these arrangements to more agencies.

We are also using data and system interfaces to provide more coordinated and targeted assistance, especially if they can allow us to intervene early. I agree with Ms Tin Pei Ling that data can be used to tailor assistance to clients’ needs. SSOs and Family Service Centres, for example, use SSNet to share client information with consent, and we are looking at the possibility of more information link-ups.

Beyond systems and data sharing, there needs to be careful case coordination so that no Singaporean falls through the cracks.

I assure Mr Darryl David that our SSO officers work closely with the family and other agencies to understand the family’s circumstances and support them holistically. But we take his feedback and we will seek to do better.

At the same time, we need to better organise and coordinate all of this work, especially when so many agencies and VWOs may sometimes be involved in certain families' cases, so that families can achieve the best outcomes. We are therefore introducing a set of case coordination guidelines for agencies and case workers across the community. Agencies will discuss and coordinate around the needs of each family, with one agency maintaining overall oversight for each complex case. We call these Guidelines for Case Master Action Planning, or Case-MAP for short. The Case-MAP will guide agencies and caseworkers from different organisations, both within and outside government, so that they share a common understanding of the entire family’s needs, and align their interventions accordingly. And if they identify barriers, gaps, road-blocks or inconsistencies in policies, criteria or operational implementation, these will be surfaced to the relevant Ministries through our SSOs, to be looked into, and resolved. About 200 agencies and 400 officers across seven towns are being trained in these guidelines, which we have started rolling out this month.

The initiatives I have shared will strengthen our social service architecture and enhance the support which families with complex challenges receive. But going beyond systems, data and protocols, what we are really working towards is a strong, interpersonal network comprising our officers, social workers and partners across various agencies, in every town, embedded amongst our communities.

Our fellow residents, VWOs and partners on the ground know the local community and their needs best, and what local informal resources are also available to supplement formal support.

11.45 am

Just imagine a map, each and every town in Singapore covering the whole island. On this map, you can see many, many dots and each dot from a planner's point of view is a healthcare institution, a service centre, an SSO, a school, a Polyclinic, all embedded in the town. Each of these agencies is like a node that we seek to connect through the SG Cares Community Network. These community networks seek to share and tap on the collective knowledge of the communities' needs, explore collaborations to make a greater impact, and to align and organise our efforts to better support individuals and families in need.

Since May last year, we have started bringing together government agencies, VWOs and community partners at the town level; not the headquarters, but on the ground, the people who are actually running the centres in the communities. The first round of networking, involving about 160 agencies and 200 officers per town, will be completed by July this year.

The second round for some towns will start taking place from later this year. We will do this every year. As follow-up, the SSOs will – in between each of these sessions – lead deep-dives with relevant partners to tackle specific social issues, such as youth offending, disability, the needs of seniors in that specific locality. They will also create more opportunities for our ground officers to build professional people-to-people relationships with counterparts in other agencies and VWOs.

So, when we talk about systems theory, we talk about silos, we talk about people guarding their turf. What better way to address this on the ground than to let officers meet each other and know that actually they are all aligned to the same purpose, the same families you are serving and let us work together.

We are already seeing positive outcomes from the networking. Project Home Alone (PHA), for example, is an initiative that sprung up from the Hougang-Serangoon SG Cares Community Network session in September last year. The SSO at Hougang, the Ang Mo Kio-Hougang Grassroots and Xinmin Secondary School initiated an elderly befriending programme after they met during the session and it started last month. Secondary school students are befriending elderly residents living near the school, as well as in Thye Hua Kwan (THK) Nursing Home in Hougang.

We hope to see many more of such partnerships. A strong network of support within the community is crucial for those who need more help. And so, Community Link or ComLink, and the Localised Community Network pilot, which I announced yesterday, will complement and strengthen support for the vulnerable. Imagine each and every town having a local community network, agencies, all knowing each other – whether you are Government, people sector, whether you are a religious organisation, corporates who want to come on board, informal groups who want to play a part – but doing so in a co-ordinated way through the SSO who understands the landscape, able to galvanise the data. Each and every node in that town, with training, with kind of a relationship building, all aligned to say that, "Well, yes i am doing my job. But in understanding my clients' needs, I understand the broader landscape of the challenges and I will bring in my relevant partners to make sure we work together as far as possible."

And within each of these community networks, you have your local LCN pilots, you have your ComLink, all working and plugging into the same motherboard.

Sir, let me now move on to youth offenders. The community support which I spoke about earlier, is also important to break cycles of offending for young people. Upon discharge from our MSF Youth Homes, young people may re-offend for various reasons – mixing with bad company, difficult family circumstances and so on.

But every young person matters, and we will do our utmost to help them overcome their challenges. Let me share Jervin’s story. Jervin is a young man currently serving national service. He was discharged from the Singapore Boy's Home last year and it is not easy to adjust back into the community after some time away. Jervin's case worker understood this acutely and went the extra mile. She checked in regularly on his progress for six months after his discharge, helped arrange his NS check-up for his enlistment and connected Jervin's family with the Family Service Centre (FSC) for additional support. Jervin was also placed on the Bettr Barista Holistic Training Programme and received his professional barista certificate before he started national service. The social worker and I are both proud of Jervin, and we hope that he continues his good progress.

To better support young people like him, after their discharge from MSF's Youth Homes, we have decided to lengthen post-care support from two months to one year. Post-care officers in the community will therefore have a longer runway to build rapport and a relationship and help link young people to community groups such as schools, employers, interest groups and other local community partners, to help keep them meaningfully engaged and envelop them with positive support and positive influence. And if issues arise, they can help these young people manage and resolve them early.

The nature and intensity of support will be tailored to the needs of these young people. Those with additional needs will be referred to partner agencies for support. In fact, if you speak to youth work agencies, youth workers and youth-at-risk, including those who have emerged from a crisis, they will share with you that relationship is critical. If you ask them to work with one youth-worker in one agency and say the programme is over, go to another programme in another place and have another youth worker, that relationship is just very hard to rebuild. And if you push them from pillar to post and say there are multiple people involved, it will be just very difficult to break through that barrier, that wall that they put up around themselves.

And so, this work of lengthening post-care builds on the work of National Committee on Prevention, Rehabilitation and Recidivism (NCPR), and Mr Melvin Yong had asked for an update on this work. We will help our youth re-integrate more smoothly into the community and reduce re-offending.

We are also strengthening statutory protection for children and young persons. Ms Sylvia Lim asked about the timeline of proposed changes to the age for protection under the Children and Young Persons Act (CYPA). We are consulting stakeholders on the proposed amendments, some of which are substantive and we look forward to Ms Lim's inputs as well. It is important to ensure that our partners are equipped to play their roles, and not unduly rush implementation. Our public consultations will run till mid-March and we aim to table the Amendment Bill in Parliament later this year or early next year.

Sir, close partnerships between the Government and community is crucial to tackle another serious social challenge – homelessness or rough sleeping. Both Mr Seah Kian Peng and Assoc Prof Daniel Goh asked about efforts to tackle emerging types of homelessness; different types of rough sleeping.

MSF works closely with Family Service Centres, HDB and other agencies to coordinate support for homeless persons.

Transitional Shelters offer temporary accommodation and social support to homeless persons who need intensive support to access stable housing, while Welfare Homes provide long-term residential care for destitute persons who are unable to support themselves and lack family support.

As Mr Seah Kian Peng and Assoc Prof Daniel Goh have pointed out, some individuals who sleep rough in public places may have homes, but do not, or are unable to go home for various reasons, such as conflict with family members, co-tenants and so on. They may also not be known to social service agencies, or have declined Government assistance.

Over the year, we have stepped up partnerships with community groups who are active in befriending and engaging persons who sleep in public places, so that we can better coordinate and strengthen our outreach to them. Better understand the precise circumstances they are in and then allow us to work with the relevant partners, both local community partners, VWOs and government agencies to try to resolve this challenge that they face.

Mr Chairman, what the House has heard earlier, and in fact yesterday, in terms of the ComLink and LCN work, was that the social services would play a bigger role together with ground Government agencies in a coordinated holistic approach to try tackle some of the most difficult challenges that complex families face. And by no means will this work be easy. But this work will be intensive, and our social workers and our VWOs will need all the support that they can get.

We cannot transform social service delivery or look forward to achieving this new social service landscape without our partners in the social service sector. As Mr Seah Kian Peng pointed out, the demands on the sector are increasing and social needs are growing in complexity. So, we must grow and develop the sector to meet these emerging challenges and better support vulnerable groups.

We will continue to provide resources, together with community partners like the Tote Board. Over the years, the Tote Board Social Service Fund, or TBSSF, has supported various social service programmes benefiting vulnerable families, children and youth, the elderly, persons with disabilities and persons with mental health issues.

For example, The Early Intervention Programme (EIPIC) for children with developmental needs, Family Service Centres (FSCs) for low-income and vulnerable families, and school social work programmes for at-risk youth are just some examples of programmes that have made a big difference in improving lives.

Sustained funding is crucial to ensure that vulnerable groups continue to receive the support they need. It also enables VWOs to focus on delivering services well, and expand, and develop new programmes to serve growing areas of need. It will also place them in a better position to operate in a network environment of social support.

I am happy to share that the Tote Board has committed $580 million to the Tote Board Social Service Fund, over the next four years – this is the largest tranche of funds put in, since it was set up in 2006. This would benefit many VWOs who serve the community.

Beyond funding support, we must also suppport and upskill our social service professionals, and develop their competencies to meet growing and changing social needs. We launched the Skills Framework for Social Service in January this year. This helps our professionals to map out career progression pathways, and guides organisations in training and developing their talent in the social services.

Mr Darryl David asked about further efforts on this front. How can we better support our social workers, and social service professionals to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow. Building on the framework, we will set up a Social Service SkillsFuture Tripartite Taskforce, to coordinate and drive skills development initiatives in the social service sector. The taskforce will comprise sector professionals. It will include academics, experts and policymakers. I counted four but I still call it "tripartite". They will explore further ways to build capabilities and strengthen professional practices. This includes reviewing the entry and training pathways for our social service professionals, ensuring relevance in curriculum, identifying improvements for professional practice, and working on joint projects to strengthen evidence-based practice.

Mr Chairman, I have spoken about our plans to provide Comprehensive, Convenient and Coordinated help, centred around our community networks across the island; and also our efforts to strengthen our social service networks in every town and community. And to also strengthen our social service sector and professionals.

Doing this will take time, we must commit to this if we want to better support and uplift the vulnerable in our midst. And we will work together with the community to do better, go further and make a greater difference. But at the same time, we must continue to support and strengthen our families, as families are the bedrock of our society.

So, now let address a couple of the cuts that Members have raised relating to family. Single parent families face more difficulties. Mr Desmond Choo asked if we could extend benefits, such as tax reliefs, to single mothers. Single parents comprise divorced, widowed and unwed parents. Most single parents are divorced or widowed, and enjoy the same benefits as married parents. Today, all Singaporean children receive government benefits that support their growth and development. These include education and healthcare subsidies.

Arising from our review in 2016, we extended 16 weeks of maternity leave and the Child Development Account benefits, including the $3,000 First Step grant, to unwed mothers and their children. Some benefits, such as the Baby Bonus Cash Gift, tax benefits and housing benefits are intended to encourage and support marriage and parenthood. Nevertheless, we will continue to see how we can better support single mothers and their children who face challenges.

Assoc Prof Daniel Goh and Mr Christopher de Souza asked if more could be done to support pregnant mothers contemplating abortion in coming to an informed decision, with the option of giving up their children for adoption instead.

The decision to terminate a pregnancy or carry a baby to term is deeply personal, and we must respect that. But it is important that an informed decision be made.

12.00 pm

All women considering abortion are required to complete pre-abortion counselling, where a trained counsellor will share on the medical, psychosocial and emotional aspects of terminating pregnancy. She can only give her written consent to terminate pregnancy at least 48 hours after this session. Those who require further support will be referred to Family Service Centres or appropriate helplines. MSF and MOH will continue to review how to strengthen and enhance the counselling process.

Mr Faisal Manap asked about working elderly Singaporeans. According to the 2018 Comprehensive Labour Force Survey, 27% of residents aged 65 and above were employed. Among those who work, some do so for financial reasons, others do so to stay engaged, some for both.

Retirement adequacy is a concern for low-income elderly. We have assistance and support schemes to ensure our seniors age with assurance. We regularly review these schemes and introduce new ones when required. Much of this has been discussed yesterday at MOM COS and more at the subsequent MOH COS, I presume.

Broadly, seniors receive healthcare support through the Pioneer and upcoming Merdeka Generation Packages. The Silver Support Scheme and ComCare assistance provides further financial support. For seniors who continue working, they also receive employment support and assistance through the Workfare Income Supplement, which has just been enhanced, and the Special Employment Credit. And there are options for them to unlock value from their flats such as the Silver Housing Bonus and Enhanced Lease Buyback Scheme. If they need someone to kind of guide them, support them and link them to the relevant agencies, our Silver Generation Ambassadors and our AIC officers on the ground will lend the support.

Ultimately, helping our seniors age gracefully and with peace of mind is also about nurturing communities of care and support within their homes and community, from family members to volunteer befrienders.

Sir, MSF will partner Singaporeans to build a caring and inclusive Singapore, where we can live with dignity, raise strong families, and take pride in contributing to those around us.

Singaporeans need not face life’s uncertainties alone, and help is available to better support and uplift these individuals and families. This is possible only with the strong partnership of individuals, families, the community, the social service sector and government agencies. This is the essence of our social compact. Let us continue to strengthen the bonds that hold us together, as we collectively build a better Singapore and a better social service sector for all Singaporeans.

The Chairman: Minister of State Mr Sam Tan.

The Minister of State for Social and Family Development (Mr Sam Tan Chin Siong): Mr Chairman, Singapore has been working hard these past 12 years, to challenge ourselves to become a society with bigger hearts, where all, regardless of age or ability, have hope for a good future.

This is what the three Enabling Masterplans are about: charting our direction towards a more caring and inclusive society, where persons with disabilities or special needs are empowered to participate fully as integral and contributing members.

Members may well recall that we first laid the groundwork for an inclusive society by developing services under the first Enabling Masterplan in 2007. That was 12 years ago.

We then went on to enhance support and services, under the second Enabling Masterplan in 2012. Notably, we set up a dedicated agency, SG Enable or SGE, to support persons with special needs, and improved the quality of early intervention (EI) and education services.

It is on this foundation that we are continuing to push forward under the third Enabling Masterplan (EMP3).

Sir, Ms Denise Phua asked about the progress of EMP3. Under the EMP3, the Government is partnering the community to support persons with special needs and also their care-givers across different stages of life. So, we adopt a whole-life stage approach.

We want to give young children with developmental needs a good start in life. We shall do so by ensuring that they have timely access to quality EI, that is, Early Intervention services. My colleague, Senior Parliamentary Secretary Faishal, will share more details later.

For children of schooling age, we want to give every child access to learning opportunities, regardless of their abilities. From January this year, we have included children with moderate to severe special educational needs under the Compulsory Education Framework. In her COS speech on Monday, Second Minister for Education, Ms Indranee Rajah, already elaborated about support for these students in mainstream schools.

We know that transportation is a key enabler, and have put in place various schemes and subsidies to support persons with special needs. These include the VWO Transport Subsidy and the Taxi Subsidy Scheme. The Government is also continually improving the accessibility and inclusivity of public transportation.

Sir, we will continue to support students as they move from school to the next stage of life. One such example is the School-to-Work Transition Programme, which matches students who are able to work, to suitable training and employment pathways based on their strengths and interests.

For job-seekers with special needs, MSF and SG Enable will continue to work with MOE and MOM to enhance their employability, expand employment options, and also to promote inclusive hiring.

We will continue to help persons with special needs prepare themselves for the workforce. For example, SG Enable works closely with SPD, Autism Resource Centre (ARC), and the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore (MINDS) to match individuals to suitable jobs, and help them adjust well into the workforce.

I am, therefore, heartened that efforts by the Government, community and corporate partners are bearing fruit. However, there is still a lot more that we can do together.

I, therefore, thank Ms Denise Phua for her suggestions to identify, individualise, integrate, implement and also inspect the care-giver support system. We know that a care-giver’s job is never an easy one. Indeed, support for care-givers is another key focus of the EMP3.

This is why we launched the Care-givers Pod at the Enabling Village last year. It is a place for care-givers to find peer support, and also to attend training sessions and organise sharing sessions among themselves.

Sir, we also know that care-givers need comprehensive and reliable information on the services available. To respond to this need, SGE is developing a new online portal that will enable care-givers to find relevant resources easily, including for respite care, as suggested by Dr Tan Wu Meng.

MSF agrees that formal respite services are needed to provide temporary relief for care-givers to prevent burnout. The Drop-in Disability Programme (DDP) is a day respite option for care-givers.

MSF-funded Disability Homes also offer residential respite care services to those who need it.

As announced by MOF, the age limit on children with special needs will also be removed for the Grandparent Care-giver Relief (GCR) scheme, from the Year of Assessment 2020. Working mothers who seek the help of grandparents to take care of their children with special needs can get tax relief of $3,000, regardless of the child’s age.

Although these measures will provide welcome support, we also know that many care-givers worry about what will happen to their loved ones when they are older. I will speak more about this later in my speech.

For now, I will speak on MSF’s forward plans to enable persons with special needs to maximise their potential.

Sir, Ms Denise Phua made a very passionate point yesterday on the importance of creating greater awareness on the EMP3. She also suggested that the Enabling Masterplans have to be "living documents", and more people and organisations should be co-opted to co-shape and co-implement solutions. I agree with her fully.

Sir, in 2019, MSF will deepen our engagement with various stakeholders, including persons with special needs and their care-givers, voluntary welfare organisations, employers, technology providers, and educational institutions. Doing so will not only allow us to better coordinate and provide targeted support to meet the varied needs of differently-abled persons across disability groups, but also increase awareness of the Enabling Masterplans. Together, we can co-create the hardware, software, and the heartware of an inclusive Singapore.

I am, therefore, very happy to announce that we will form two cross-sectoral workgroups involving people, private, and public sector partners, to focus on employability and independent living.

The first workgroup will look at preparing persons with special needs for the future economy, by enhancing access to lifelong learning opportunities and employment pathways. We must prepare our citizens with special needs for the jobs of today and also tomorrow. I am, therefore, very grateful that Ms Denise Phua has very kindly agreed to co-chair this workgroup with me to study this issue further with the relevant stakeholders in the public, private and the people sectors including WSG and e2i.

Sir, I will also co-chair another workgroup with President of SPD, who is also a former Nominated Member of Parliament, Ms Chia Yong Yong, to look into promoting independent living through technology and design, in the home setting as well as within the community.

Mr Chairman, all of us want to have assurance that the needs of our loved ones, and those of our own, will continue to be met when we enter our senior years.

Dr Tan Wu Meng asked about support for seniors who worry about their children with special needs. We have set up the Special Needs Trust Company (SNTC) to support parents and care-givers of persons with special needs in future care planning and financial security. This includes planning for their future expenses for accommodation, health and other care needs.

Mr Darryl David has asked about support measures for those who have lost their mental capacity. All Singaporeans need to plan for our own golden years. Having a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) will give us peace of mind, knowing that a trusted loved one is empowered to act for us, should we lose mental capacity. It will also enable our care-givers to act confidently in providing care for us.

I thank Mr Dennis Tan for his suggestion to do more to protect Certificate Issuers by amending the LPA form. We will consider this in our on-going review of the LPA form.

Yet, there are a number of seniors who may not have the support of family members. They may be single, or married but childless.

MSF has introduced two community support options to help these Singaporeans plan ahead in the event of them losing their mental capacity.

The first is the Professional Deputies and Donees (PDD) Scheme, which was launched in September last year. Under this scheme, individuals can procure the services of a registered PDD to make major decisions on their behalf, such as liquidating their property to finance their care.

To assure individuals that their interests will be protected, we have put in place a training course for PDDs, and also put in place very robust measures to ensure all the regulations and practices are monitored. Twenty individuals have registered as PDDs so far. MSF will continue to train more suitable persons to be PDDs, and raise awareness of PDD services.

Mr Chairman, with your permission, may I display a slide on the screen?

The Chairman: Yes, please. [A slide was shown to hon Members.]

Mr Sam Tan Chin Siong: Thank you. To complement the PDD scheme, MSF launched a two-year Community Kin Service (CKS). This is a pilot launched in 2018. The scheme allows partner-VWOs to manage the day-to-day expenses of a senior who has lost mental capacity, through the authority of a Court order, and also under the close supervision of the Office of Public Guardian. This could include passing the senior a fixed cash amount from his bank account so that he can buy food and groceries, and make payment for the senior’s utility bills so that he will not experience a disruption in the electricity and water supply.

With the help from a community kin, the senior can stay within the community that he is familiar with, while receiving dedicated care. So with these schemes in place, we hope that Singaporeans will be able to prepare for their future and also be supported through their golden years. Mr Chairman, allow me to now speak in Mandarin.

12.15 pm

(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Our vision is to develop an inclusive society where every Singaporean is empowered to participate fully as integral and contributing members. We have been working towards this objective in the past few years, striving to build a society with bigger hearts, where every individual has hope for a good future, regardless of age and ability.

Members in this House may remember that we laid the groundwork for an inclusive society when we first launched the Enabling Masterplan in 2007. In 2012, we enhanced services and support for persons with special needs under the second Enabling Masterplan.

Under the third Enabling Masterplan, we will adopt a life-stage approach to provide further support for those with special needs at various stages of their lives, so that they are better able to live independently.

We know that care-giving is both physically and psychologically exhausting. Therefore, one of the priorities of the EMP3 is to help care-givers provide better care for themselves and their loved ones.

To ensure that these plans are implemented successfully, all of society, across the public, private and people sectors, must work as one.

Therefore, we will be introducing two cross-sectoral workgroups. The first workgroup will focus on improving the quality of life for persons with special needs through technology and design. I will be co-chairing this group with the President of SPD and former Nominated Member of Parliament Ms Chia Yong Yong.

I will also co-chair another workgroup with parliamentary colleague and President of ARC, Ms Denise Phua. The aim of this workgroup is to prepare persons with special needs for the future economy by enhancing access to lifelong learning opportunities and employment pathways.

Every one of us would like to live well in our golden years, and every Singaporean should prepare ahead for this stage in life. It is for this purpose that we established the Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA). By appointing an LPA, we authorise a family member or trusted friend to make decisions on our behalf in the event that we lose our mental capacity. With this clarity, we and our care-givers would have less to worry about.

At the same time, we are also aware that there are senior citizens with no one to turn to, and may not have any care-givers to take care of them should they lose their mental capacity. They may be married but childless or they may be single.

Therefore, MSF has introduced two community support schemes to help these Singaporeans plan ahead.

The first is the Professional Deputies and Donees (PDD) Scheme. This was launched in September 2018. Under this Scheme, individuals can procure the services of a registered PDD to make decisions on their behalf, for example, liquidating their property to finance their care.

To assure individuals that their interests will be protected, we have put in place robust safeguards. These include mandating PDDs to report regularly to the Office of Public Guardians, and record all decisions made on behalf of their clients. We also provide training for the PDDs, to ensure that they are trustworthy and able to support their clients.

To complement the PDD Scheme, MSF launched a two-year Community Kin Service (CKS) pilot in 2018. This Scheme allows partner-VWOs to manage the day-to-day expenses of a senior who has lost mental capacity through the authorisation of a Court order. This could include VWOs making monthly withdrawals from the senior’s bank account, passing the senior a fixed cash amount so that he can buy food and groceries, or paying for his medical bills.

The first case under the pilot programme is a 78-year-old man who lives alone in a one-room flat. Doctors have certified that he no longer has the mental capacity to manage his daily expenses.

Under the CKS pilot, a social worker from the authorised VWO helps him pay his utility bills, and visits him twice a week to give him an allowance, so that he can continue with his current lifestyle, for example, eating his favourite meals at nearby coffee shops.

With help from a community kin, this senior can age within the community that he is familiar with, while receiving dedicated care. This scheme is run by the Office of Public Guardian to ensure that seniors’ monies will not be misused.

With these schemes, we hope that Singaporeans will prepare ahead for their future and be supported through their golden years.

(In English): Mr Chairman, all of us can play a part in fostering a caring and inclusive society for all Singaporeans, regardless of their age and their ability. So, this is one journey where I hope Singaporeans, particularly those who are interested in and have concerns for persons with disabilities or different abilities, can partner us to walk this journey together.

The Chairman: Senior Parliamentary Secretary Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim.

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Social and Family Development (Assoc Prof Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim): Chairman, I thank Members for their valuable suggestions and support for MSF's work. Allow me to start with a few words in Malay.

(In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] We, in MSF, are committed to work together to improve the lives of Singaporeans. One of the main priority areas is ensuring that every child has a good start in life.

Children are our future. Pre-school education helps children develop skills in thinking, learning and socialising with other children, as well as self-confidence and independence. We will continue to ensure affordable and quality early childhood services that are easily accessible. Our goal is to ensure that every child has a good start to succeed in life.

Among the efforts implemented include funding for some pre-school operators to offer quality programmes at an affordable fee. We also provide subsidies to parents. Low-income families receive the most subsidies and thus need to pay only a few dollars a month in school fees.

We are reviewing pre-school subsidies to make it more affordable for parents. While this review is on-going, I am pleased to announce that MSF will provide more subsidies for mothers who are looking for a job and who need to place their children in childcare centres first, or mothers who are unable to work because they are caring for a young child.

We will also maintain the amount of subsidy received for a longer period, without requiring a review every year. We hope these enhancements will give families more certainty and peace of mind.

Through these enhancements, over 5,000 families will benefit from 1 March 2019. With more support available for our families, I urge more parents to enrol their children in pre-schools. Ensure your child has a good start in life.

As we continue to enhance pre-school services, some of our children may need more help. To help young children with developmental needs, early intervention is critical to help them achieve their full potential.

Currently, the Government provides subsidies for early intervention programmes to help children with developmental needs.

From 1 April 2019, most families will be paying lower fees, a reduction of 30% to 70% for early intervention services. More families will also be paying as little as only $5.

From July onwards, we will also enhance the early intervention programmes so that they are more customised to our children's needs. For example, children from the Early Intervention Programme for Infants and Children (EIPIC) who have achieved sufficient progress, can receive early intervention at their pre-schools without having to go to an early intervention centre. This enhancement is expected to benefit at least 4,500 children every year.

Mr Chairman, I have shared our efforts to give all children a good start in life. Please allow me to recite a Malay pantun.

Board the LRT at Fajar station

To Mandai Zoo we go

The young get an education

To be smart adults, they grow

Ladies and gentlemen, let us journey together to build a better tomorrow for us and our generations ahead.

(In English): Mr Chairman, quality early childhood development builds strong foundations for life. My Ministry strives to give every child a good start. Since National Day Rally 2012, we have significantly enhanced access to affordable and quality pre-schools.

We want to assure Members that the Government is committed to making pre-school affordable.

The expansion of Anchor and Partner Operator pre-schools, as well as MOE Kindergartens, ensures the supply of affordable pre-school services. In addition, the Government provides subsidies to help defray the fees borne by parents, especially those from lower income groups.

Last year, Minister Desmond Lee shared that we are further reviewing pre-school subsidies. While this review is still on-going, we will begin to enhance operational processes to improve access to pre-school subsidies.

We agree with Mr Louis Ng and Ms Anthea Ong that we can do more to address pre-school affordability concerns of non-working mothers. Therefore, I am pleased to announce that ECDA will provide more subsidies to non-working mothers who are looking for work, or who are unable to work because they are caring for a younger child.

Mothers like Mdm Lee Siok Hong will benefit from this. A mother of two children, Mdm Lee cares for her younger child at home, while her elder child is enrolled in childcare. Based on our prevailing rules, Mdm Lee may qualify for $300 Basic Subsidy for her elder child until her younger child turns 18 months old. With our enhancements, Mdm Lee will receive $300 Basic Subsidy for an additional six months, until her younger child turns two years old. Depending on her household income, Mdm Lee may also be eligible for up to $440 of means-tested Additional Subsidy.

Mothers who are looking for a job will also benefit from our enhancements. Under our prevailing rules, a job-seeking mother may qualify for $300 Basic Subsidy for three months. With our enhancements, she will receive $300 Basic Subsidy, and up to $440 of means-tested Additional subsidies, for six months. We hope this will give mothers greater peace of mind to secure a job.

To Mr Ng's query, non-working mothers can consider enrolling their children in kindergartens, which are generally more affordable than childcare services. For instance, today’s median monthly fees are $171 for kindergartens and $856 for child care, before subsidies. And with the Kindergarten Fee Assistance Scheme, or KiFAS, the out-of-pocket cost for low- and middle-income parents who enrol their children in Anchor Operator or MOE Kindergartens is a few dollars a month.

I am also glad to announce that ECDA will give parents greater certainty on the amount of child care subsidies they will receive. ECDA previously verified the working status of mothers annually. From this year, this will be performed at fixed points in the child’s pre-school years, which may be up to 2.5 years apart. The longer time-frame between ECDA’s re-assessments will give families more certainty on the amount of subsidies they receive, even if parents transit between jobs, or take on care-giving responsibilities.

Through these enhancements, more than 5,000 households like Mdm Lee’s will benefit every year, starting from 1 March 2019 this year.

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Mr Leon Perera asked for an update of the Early Childhood Development Centres Act, which came into force from January 2019. This helps drive better standards across the pre-school sector.

Since 2015, ECDA has been engaging pre-schools to prepare for the Act. All child care centres are already licensed under the Act. Kindergartens, which are new to a licensing regime, have been provided another year to apply for a licence. We understand that no pre-schools has had to close due to the Act. In fact, closures of pre-schools have remained consistently low over the past few years.

Dr Lily Neo, Mr Darryl David and Mr Ang Hin Kee asked for an update of the Early Childhood Industry Transformation Map or ITM. Many pre-schools have implemented initiatives such as technology services, centralised services, and demand aggregation. These solutions help to free up our educators’ time from administrative work, so that they can focus on nurturing and teaching the children.

The Early Childhood ITM also aims to ensure that workers in the EC sector are well taken care of at their workplaces. In particular, we hope to do more for our mature workers, and enhance their career longevity.

I am pleased to announce that ECDA will be collaborating with the Health Promotion Board to commission an occupational health and safety assessment. They will appoint a panel of experts this year to holistically examine the well-being of pre-school staff, as well as recommend job redesign and workplace enhancements.

At the heart of quality early childhood development are our early childhood educators. We will press on to attract, develop and retain capable and passionate educators. The National Institute of Early Childhood Development will begin training its first batch of students in its full-time Diploma in Early Childhood Development and Education from April 2019.

I am also happy to announce that ECDA will soon introduce an enhanced centre management system, or CMS. The CMS will interface with all pre-schools and improve existing processes such as licence application and subsidy administration.

With CMS, pre-school administrators and parents will enjoy greater convenience. For example, through automation, pre-schools will have less data entry and no longer need to retain hard copies of birth certificates and NRICs for subsidy applications. Parents will be required to fill in just one form to apply for subsidies and financial assistance. This will smoothen the application process for about 20,000 new families annually, and halve the time spent on subsidy applications.

Ms Sylvia Lim asked about the KidSTART pilot. KidSTART supports parents to ensure that their children benefit from nurturing relationships, holistic child development, as well as a secure home environment. We are encouraged by the feedback that we have received so far. Children are speaking more and their social skills have improved. Their parents feel better supported in their parenting.

We will continue to closely assess KidSTART, and study the viability of scaling it up.

Even as we continue to enhance pre-school services, some of our children would need an extra helping hand. We agree with Ms Rahayu Mahzam that for young children with developmental needs, early intervention, or EI, is valuable, and helps them achieve their fullest potential.

Mr Perera asked about pre-schools and children with developmental needs. Today, there are 550 pre-schools offering the Learning and Development Support programmes, catering to children with mild developmental needs.

We understand that insurance coverage for operators is not a barrier to enrolment. There are insurers which offer group insurance coverage to pre-schools, without distinguishing between the developmental needs of their children.

Earlier this year, Minister Desmond Lee announced our plans to make EI services more affordable. From 1 April, EI fees will be reduced for most families, with reductions averaging between 30% to 70%.

From July, we will also progressively offer enhanced programmes that are better tailored to the different needs of children as they develop over time.

Let me share how this will benefit children like six-year-old Elijah Lim. Elijah was one of around 700 children who participated in our pilot of enhanced programmes. He used to receive intervention at an EI centre twice a week, in addition to attending pre-school. After making progress, Elijah transited to receive intervention in his My First Skool pre-school, where his speech therapist and pre-school teachers worked together to help him gain greater independence and confidence. Elijah is now settling in well in a mainstream primary school. His pre-school friends also benefited from being in a more inclusive place for learning. Elijah’s family appreciated the convenience of not having to shuttle between his pre-school and EI centre. During our two-year pilot, many other families and children gave positive feedback. I am optimistic that even more will benefit as we expand this offering.

May I also assure Ms Rahayu that we will continue to refine our EI services by learning from international best practices, building new capabilities, and enhancing standards.

We will work with our partners to continually improve, so that every child in Singapore can have a good start in life.

In our society, we aspire to provide opportunities for all. In MSF, the Office for Women’s Development, or OWD, was set up as the national focal point on gender policy matters and for international cooperation pertaining to women. There has been much progress in these areas. But, we believe more can be done.

The OWD champions the crucial roles that women play in our society. Ms Rahayu, Ms Ong and Prof Fatimah Lateef asked about how we can advance the representation of women on boards of organisations. Doing so not only helps women to advance, but benefits organisations as well. To me, It is a win-win outcome. This work is spearheaded by the newly-formed Council for Board Diversity, or CBD. The CBD takes over from the Diversity Action Committee (or DAC), and will take on a wider scope. The representation of women on boards of Top 100 primary-listed companies on SGX had increased from 7.5% in end 2013, before the DAC was constituted, to 15.2% at the end December 2018. This is a good achievement. DAC had suggested changes to the Code of Corporate Governance, which came into effect from January 2019. This Code requires companies to disclose their board diversity policies, objectives and progress. We should see benefits from this in the coming years. The CBD will continue to encourage companies listed on the Singapore Exchange to put more women on boards, but will also engage people and public sector organisations. Currently, we have 23% women’s participation on statutory boards. We are confident that the CBD can build on this progress.

Prof Fatimah also asked about the progress of BoardAgender. Their efforts are complementary to the work of the CBD. One of their key initiatives is the SG50 Champions of Change launched in 2015, which is a network of influential individuals who pledged to support the cause.

Ms Ong highlighted the 20% pay gap between genders, derived from a ValuePenguin report. From our understanding, the figures in this report is wider than is the case in Singapore because of the different base and definitions used.

MOM’s latest data estimates Singapore’s gender pay gap for full-time employed residents in similar occupation groups at around 10% instead. This 10% gap can be attributed to the fact that women are more likely to exit the workforce earlier, or have intermittent patterns of work, for reasons such as child-giving.

The Government’s goal is hence to empower women with choices to enter, remain in, or re-enter in the workforce. We want to support women’s desire to fulfil both their career and family aspirations. For example, MOM just announced an increase in the Work-Life Grant budget, and introduced various other initiatives. This will help jobseekers, including women planning to return to the workforce.

It is also critical for families to address gender equity at home. Men, like me, can take on more family responsibilities, so that women do not necessarily have to shoulder the lion’s share.

Ms Rahayu and Ms Ong also asked about other initiatives to empower women. The Government is committed to working with partners to cultivate a supportive environment for women in the workplace, community and at home.

We also want to ensure women feel safe and protected, and to come forward when they are not. In February this year, the Criminal Law Reform Bill was tabled in Parliament for the First Reading. The Bill will repeal marital immunity for rape. This will allow for all women to be better protected from sexual abuse.

To further support women, OWD actively engages the Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations, or SCWO. SCWO is the umbrella Women’s Organisation with over 500,000 women in its 50-member organisations. I am pleased to announce that OWD will introduce a seed fund for SCWO to administer. This will help women’s organisations to pilot or scale up women’s development programmes. More details will be shared by SCWO later this month. SCWO also recently launched a new “SCWO Insight Series”, which brings participants together with women leaders to discuss national issues. The SCWO will also roll out other initiatives, such as celebrating International Women’s Day this Friday. On that note, I wish all fellow Singaporeans a meaningful International Women’s Day in advance!

Mr Chairman, my colleagues and I at MSF will continue to work hard to uplift Singaporeans from all walks of life. We will strive to provide a good start in life for our children. We will nurture a more inclusive society where Singaporeans of all abilities can live well and have peace of mind as we grow older. We will strengthen family ties because we see the family as an important institution of our society. We will support fellow Singaporeans who are facing challenges to get back on their feet. We do all these because we take pride in building Singapore into a nation of opportunities where all can succeed.

Mr Chairman, we will press on with this important work. We urge all Singaporeans to walk together with us in this journey to build a better tomorrow for all and our future generation. Thank you.

The Chairman: Clarifications. Mr Darryl David.

Mr Darryl David: Thank you, Chairman. I just have two points of clarification. First point I believe would be to Minister. It is very heartening to hear Minister talk about the tripartite, or should I say, the quartripartite because it involves four parties task force. Can Minister, perhaps, share more regarding when we can expect more details on this task force in terms of, perhaps, a budget and opportunities and would there also be opportunities for mid-career professionals in terms of this task force's framework that is due to be set up to allow them, perhaps, to do a professional conversion programme as it were.

Another point of clarification is for Senior Parliamentary Secretary Faishal. The Centre Management System (CMS) would certainly help many parents to register for early childhood and so. Would it be compulsory for all early childhood centres to come onto this CMS programme? And when can we expect the CMS to be rolled out into the sector?

Mr Desmond Lee: Mr Chairman, I thank the Member for his interest in the Tripartite Taskforce. This Tripartite Taskforce brings together representatives from the entire eco-system – those who train our social workers, both pre-employment as well as mid-career; those who employ and work with social workers in our VWOs and agencies; and of course, the Government departments as well.

12.45 pm

This ensures that building on top of the skills framework that we put in place very recently for our social work professionals, we have an eco-system where the tripartite partners understand the needs on the ground, including the new structures that we are setting up, the new kind of social safety nets that we are building, and the kinds of skill sets that our social workers will need to learn – both pre-employment and as part of continuing education – and to pick up in order to be able to meet social needs. For example, if he senses that we need more social work intervention, say in the geriatric field, and we will go on to work with our academic partners to see how curriculum can be adjusted in order to cater to this growing need, for instance.

And so, as to when we can start to expect some recommendations to come out from the tripartite task force, let us give them a bit of time to meet. There have been some preliminary sessions, but allow them to meet and discuss, and they will then come up with recommendations on the various issues I have talked about – pathway, career, transition, curriculum and so on.

Mr Darryl David: I had asked another question of the Minister: would there also be opportunities for mid-career professionals, in terms of this task force's framework, to do a professional conversion programme to make the switch. If the Minister could reply, before the Senior Parliamentary answers. Thank you, Mr Chairman.

Mr Desmond Lee: Yes, indeed this is one area that I am looking into with great interest. I recalled Mr Dennis Tan had asked me about childcare teachers and we know that the majority of pre-school teacher enrolment each year is from mid-career transitions. So, we are now looking with interest at the landscape for the social sector. Many come from pre-employment training, from Polytechnics and our Universities, but I am also seeing how we can further strengthen career transition for older workers with life experience who want to go into social work. There are many of them who do transit, they are graduate diplomas for some of these conversions. We want to see how this pipeline can be further strengthened, and part of the work of the tripartite taskforce is also to look at this.

Assoc Prof Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim: Chairman, I agree with the Member that CMS would bring great benefits to the parents as well as the operators. All childcare centres and kindergartens regulated by ECDA under the Early Childhood Development Centres Act will come on-board the CMS and we are likely to going to roll out to all pre-schools later this year.

The Chairman: Prof Fatimah Lateef.

Prof Fatimah Lateef (Marine Parade): Thank you, Chairman. I have one clarification for the Minister. It is actually pertaining to single unwed mothers, and I know the principles and values we want to uphold in the society and all that. But many of the issues that they face and grapple with, I agree, can be solved at the constituency level through other networks that we have formed in the constituency and all that. But when it comes to policy – housing, Baby Bonuses and so on – that, we require intervention at the Minister or Ministry level. Usually, we will appeal and re-appeal, but then you know, it is a very long circuitous journey for these people, really.

Pertaining to that, taking that a little bit further, I have a couple of cases where we actually have Muslim women who are second wives to Muslim men, and they are also faced with this issue where they do not qualify for Baby Bonuses and other policy issues because they are the second wives of the men. That is another area as well.

Mr Desmond Lee: I thank the Member for her keen understanding of the challenges that single unwed mothers as well as women in the Muslim community face, specific to the cultural context.

On the former, as I said earlier, schemes that benefit all children – all Singaporean children – apply across the board regardless of the marital status of the parents. There are certain schemes which support and encourage marriage and parenthood, and these are schemes that we provide specifically for that purpose. That is the distinction.

But having said that, we all recognise, all Members of this House recognise that many of the single unwed mothers are not in the situation out of choice, but out of circumstance. They soldier on; they care for the child and they want the best for the child. And certainly, we too want to ensure that these children have every opportunity.

So, a lot of the work that we do involves ensuring that we understand fully the challenges of some of these women. Stoic though they may be, they may need more support, and let us weave that support around them, each and every community, building that kind of support platform that I talked about earlier so that we can address them using a variety of schemes and programmes, both national, community-based and local.

On the issue of Muslim wives who are second wives, there is family support that is provided to the entire family for the marriage and for parenthood, and for the children. And if these families as a whole face challenges, whether financial or social, again, let us have a good look at the situations of these families and see how we can address some of them.

As I said earlier in my speech, as a result of this tighter integration of support, when the agencies can fly through the challenges of these families, flying through different policies even on the ground, and how they interface and touch families. They will be able to identify where there are gaps, where there are kinks, where there are inconsistencies which on the ground we can see, and if the parent Ministries can then come together and see how best we can resolve them through policies, tweaks or schemes, or adjustments, or even new policies, we will certainly be prepared to look at them.

Mr Leon Perera (Non-Constituency Member): I thank Senior Parliamentary Secretary Assoc Prof Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim for responding to most of the points in my cut speech. Just two quick clarifications. One is: could the Senior Parliamentary Secretary share with us the number of pre-schools that have been given the one-year extension and are still awaiting the licence he had referred to?

And secondly, in regards to my point about international rankings of Singapore in terms of early education quality, I refer to the Starting Well ranking report that was done in 2012. Is the Government aware of other reports that rank how well we are doing with respect to other countries? And is this something that the Government will monitor going forward? Unless I missed it; I do not think that was touched on.

The Chairman: The guillotine time is 1.00 pm, so I suggest every Member try to rush through your questions and responses.

Assoc Prof Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim: Sir, there are 400 kindergartens and all the 400 will have a year to get the licence. And about the study that the Member mentioned, from our understanding, that has been the only one study that had been undertaken. If you look from the time the study was undertaken to today, you cannot deny the fact that there has been a great leap in terms of the changes that we have undertaken in terms of affordability, the quality, as well as the accessibility that we have provided to our children and the families.

So, as a Singaporean, I feel very happy that we want to give every child a good start in life. This not only comes from the operators, but I think when we speak to parents, we speak to families and all the stakeholders, they feel that we are doing the right thing. We will continue this journey.

Mr Desmond Lee: Just to supplement my colleague's response, the Lien Foundation report benchmarked the early childhood in Singapore with that in a number of other countries. There were, amongst others, three major criteria: one was accessibility, another was affordability and quality – precisely the three indicators on which we are pushing very hard in Singapore.

On accessibility, I understand, we did not rank well because we did not legally mandate that every child go to pre-school even though our pre-school attendance rate is very high, even for those at the lower SES.

For those with the lower SES with KidSTART and with pre-school outreach – going door to door for each family – we endeavour to try to raise the low SES participation rate in pre-school. So, we did not rank well because there was no legal mandate it. In some countries they are legally mandated. But I think let us look at the results – look at the attendance rates.

On quality, again, I am told we scored not so well on that study, in terms of teacher-child ratio – that means how many children there are for each teacher. Wages, which, again, has been going up quite steadily since 2012, outpacing the general market in terms of wage increments. Pre-school teacher training, again, there is the National Institute of Early Childhood Development (NIEC) and the coming together of three institutes, so, great emphasis on quality, both pre-employment as well as the professional development that we have put in place for teachers, principals, as well as edu-carers.

And looking at the linkage between pre-schools and Primary schools which again now, we have strong interface because both MOE and MSF, looking after ECDA, look at the interface as well. So, we take the report at heart. It has been many years since. There have been no studies in between, but I think we look at our indicators where we stand and want to make sure that we invest heavily for our children to have the best start in life.

The Chairman: Let us keep clarifications short.

Mr Seah Kian Peng (Marine Parade): Sir, a quick clarification for the Minister. In a quest to provide more comprehensive, more coordinated, more convenient services to residents, I have asked in my cut yesterday and previously whether our Social Service Offices should also consider operating during the weekends. So, I would like the Minister's response.

Mr Desmond Lee: I take the Member's point. We have three Social Service Offices (SSOs) that are opened on Saturdays. If you look at the attendance at SSOs, most of our clients turn up on weekdays. And for those who have difficulty meeting our officers during the office hours, they make arrangements with our officers at our Family Service Centres to meet outside office hours. So, we accommodate them, including those who can go to our SSOs that are open on weekends. Otherwise, we make arrangements.

Dr Lily Neo (Jalan Besar): May I ask the Minister whether he knows the numbers of vulnerable families in the community? He mentioned earlier that he wanted to give more help to these families. May I ask him whether MSF has enough capacity to reach out to them, and how many is MSF going to help in these families, and whether we have any target on the outcome benchmark for these families?

Mr Desmond Lee: I do not have the figures, but if you look at the bottom 20% of the SES, I think that would be a group we would first be very concerned in ensuring that we support better, particularly if they face complex challenges. And so what I described yesterday and today, seeing how we can weave a closer social safety net and having better social health integration in the community.

In terms of ComLink which I articulated yesterday, for the four centres that we will open in the course of the next two years, we hope to outreach to 14,000 families in rental housing with young children, and work with them proactively.

In terms of resources, I am very appreciative of Members who have in this House openly sought more resources for MOM and MSF from the Finance Ministry in order for us to better strengthen this network.

But we cannot work on our own. We work very closely with our partners, with our VWOs, those in the Family Service Centres, child protection agencies, adult protection, family violence, as well as divorce support, and community groups including the grassroots. This last mile connection on the ground is not something that any single agency can do on its own.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang (Nee Soon): Just a quick clarification for the Senior Parliamentary Secretary. I think him for saying that we saying that we will be providing more support for non-working mothers. Could I just clarify that the non-working mothers will now be able to get the full basic subsidy of $300, as well as the additional subsidies?

Assoc Prof Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim: Sir, I thank the Member for the question. As I mentioned earlier, there are two circumstances which I highlighted: the non-working mothers who are looking for work and non-working mothers who are looking after younger children.

Nevertheless, I would like to assure Mr Louis Ng that we would do our best to help every mother here. We want to see how we can facilitate care-giving, and at the same time, support them financially. So, if there are issues or things that matter that the non-working mothers are not clear about or would want to get support for, I would like to urge the families to approach any of the operators or ECDA where they can apply for special approval, and we will look at these circumstances on a case by case basis. So, our intention is to help them, support them so that we can give the best start for our children.

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Ms Tin Pei Ling (MacPherson): I have a few clarifications. First, I would like to ask Minister, to what extent does the SSO access applicant's wealth and assets when determining how much assistance to provide. I am asking this in the context of data. With increasing availability of data, with the advancement of technology, how might the SSO make use of this to do so, to ensure social equity?

Second is the Community Kin Service (CKS) and the Professional Deputy and Donees (PDD) sounds quite similar. May I just ask, how are these two schemes differentiated, how do they complement each other? And therefore how do we position this to our residents and can the publicity towards this two schemes be increased just like Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA). A lot of them asked about LPA, but they do not know much about these.

Mr Desmond Lee: Maybe before I respond to Ms Tin Pei Ling, I also want to make a clarification in response to Mr Seah Kian Peng, it is not three SSOs, it is four SSOs that are opened on a Saturday, half-day, but again I reiterate that the key is we will look into this in terms of better service outreach while certainly making arrangements to accommodate the needs of our clients if they are unable to meet us during office hours.

In response to Ms Tin's query, she is right that with technology and data and with the proper linkages, we will be able to do a couple of things. One is to make sure that in relation to specific applications, say for ComCare and other forms of support by clients and beneficiaries, we should be able to have a more accurate triangulation to determine means.

Second, it should be more convenient and less of a hassle for clients to have to keep churning out documents, especially if we can get them from other agencies. So, these are the two things.

Third is that, this is work in progress. This is a piece of work that we need to undertake with a number of the agencies. As for CKS and PDD, I will let my colleague respond.

Mr Sam Tan Chin Siong: Mr Chairman, I thank the Member for the clarification. The difference between CKS and PDD is that, PDD helps persons who lost the mental capacity to make major decisions like liquidating the assets, bank accounts and all that, to provide institutional care or some other major financial needs. Whereas the CKS is to involve VWO partners in the community to help seniors who have lost their mental capacities to deal with the day to day living activities, like buying food, getting monies to pay for services likes utilities and so on. So, these are the two services.

For the second question of publicity with greater awareness on CKS, we just piloted this service not long ago. We are still in the pilot stage, once the project is piloted, when we decide it is a good scheme to roll out in the community then we will also roll out publicity. So, it is coming.

Mr Speaker: Mr Seah Kian Peng, would you like to withdraw your amendment please?

Mr Seah Kian Peng: I would like to thank Minister Desmond Lee, Minister of State Sam Tan, Senior Parliamentary Secretary Faishal Ibrahim for the replies and clarifications. I have been speaking at the MSF COS for the last 13 years. I cannot help but detect the number of cuts and the time allocated has been declining. This is one trend we like to see, but as the Minister had said, even though issues are fewer, they are becoming more complicated, more complex and it requires all of us in this sector to work more closely together.

I just want to, on behalf of all Members who spoke, extend our appreciation to everyone in the Social Service sector for their hard work, for their commitment, for their dedication. It takes all of us to make Singapore a more caring, more inclusive and a more giving society. It is my pleasure to beg leave to withdraw my amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

The sum of $2,902,846,300 for Head I ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates.

The sum of $115,657,400 for Head I ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates.