Committee of Supply – Head T (Ministry of National Development)

The Chairman: Head T, Ministry of National Development, Miss Cheryl Chan.

Maintaining Liveable HDB Estates

Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling (East Coast): Mr Chairman, I beg to move, "That the total sum to be allocated for Head T of the Estimates be reduced by $100".

Sir, as a young nation, our housing estates in Singapore are considered relatively new by international standards. When we look around a mature estate like those in Queenstown, Tiong Bahru and Bedok, you will notice that the exterior facades of the flats are well maintained, amenities abound within the community and signs of life around the neighourbood through the day.

The oldest HDB estate in Singapore today is about 61 years of age. To upkeep the estates, HDB has implemented many initiatives to renew and refresh each estate from time to time. Key programmes have so far served its designated purposes. But as time passes, an estate’s soul and vibrancy will go beyond the basic infrastructural projects and maintenance. With the shift in demographics, new BTOs injected, fresh needs and immediate concerns resulting from the pandemic, changing lifestyles and business innovations, there is an increasing need to adapt and make our estates more liveable for now and the future.

While ground needs change and estates mature with age, the physical condition of estates is just but one aspect that needs to be looked at. The vibrancy and people who live, work and play at these estates become central to the concepts that has to be refreshed.

I would like to ask Minister what is MND’s plan to involve more Singaporeans in upgrading and redeveloping our HDB estates to keep them liveable for the decades ahead?

I wish to offer my suggestions on how to do this.

First, creating co-working and study spaces in neighbourhood estates. With COVID-19, the trend of work from home and home-based learning are on the rise. This is likely to stay but not all households will have conducive environment that facilitates the activities. As such, some planning on designated areas in different estates will help provide the growing demand for future usage closer to home. We should consider this not solely from a commercial operating angle but bring local SMEs and platform providers to create the facility. Further, this can benefit the vulnerable groups living in shared or rental flats who are unable to afford the space or technology gadgets.

Second, provide communal spaces for people with disabilities (PWDs) or special needs to integrate amongst the community. In 2020 COS, I raised the need for intentional efforts to do this. With pervasiveness of digital technology, apps that provide information on venues and services friendly to PWDs can be made available. I also recommended improving their daily assisted living within the public housing through the use of technology assisted devices to ease their burden on the long run. Be it within the public flats or surroundings, familiarity and having the right aids in place are critical for them to live comfortably.

Third, augment talent and skilled labour force from the community for maintenance of estates. As estates aged, it is common to have issues of spalling concrete, water seepage, leakages within the flats. While HDB attempts to resolve such matters, there has been a lack of contractors from time to time to solve the issues. This problem is exacerbated by the pandemic. The constraint of workers may persist in future. Given the demand for such maintenance, we should look at how to augment with skilled individuals equipped with skillsets to supervise works or certify them on contract jobs.

Fourth, create more Wellness community areas with residents. There are open spaces below or between the blocks of HDB flats, particularly at mature estates. Besides the usual playground and fitness corners, we should consider working with NParks, residents and Town Councils to redevelop these pockets for green activities, community gathering points, exercise routes and link services around the area for all ages. Think of each pocket as a mini-Botanic Garden which can be inter-connected through each division and finally linked to park connectors or the Green Belts under the urban planning.

More importantly, the social network and programmes are self-run by residents in the neighbourhood. Retirees and volunteers can run regular social programmes to engage the community at this place, look out for other seniors who need care management, share meaningful time together on activities without tapping on resources from the agencies after the master planning and development is put in place. These Wellness Community areas will keep residents active, healthy and bring vibrancy to vacant land areas.

3.45 pm

Lastly, remodel the heartland shops. Neighbourhood shops are useful amenities in any community and serve a diverse group of residents. However, the growing presence of online purchases and declining variety of businesses in the neighbourhood, have put in question the relevance of these shops. To better utilise them, the Remaking Heartland Program should be revamped. What is required is not simply remaking of physical infrastructures, but a renewal on business varieties, hybrid presence of shops, digital & physical, supporting our local brands and trades, and innovation launchpads right in our own heartland.

The last mile connection of essential services and products delivery can be co-located with these shops to leverage its convenience, provide community jobs and attract footfall that injects life to the neighbourhood.

Question proposed.

Liveable HDB Estates

Mr Lim Biow Chuan (Mountbatten): Sir, I have several blocks of HDB flats along Old Airport Road and they are located within my estate, and they are almost 60 years old. Despite all the efforts to maintain and upgrade them, many of these flats suffer from spalling concrete at their ceiling and at the kitchen. Residents frequently feedback on their worries that the concrete slabs may fall onto them, and the exposed rusting steel bars are also very unsightly.

The lifts in those blocks are also very old and difficult to maintain. HDB keeps arranging for the spalling concrete to be repaired but they keep recurring and the spalling concrete pose a risk to the occupants.

May I ask whether there are any plans to upgrade and develop these older flats to keep them in a more liveable condition? Sometimes, when I see the design of the newer BTO flats, I feel envious and wonder whether some of the new features can be introduced to the older estates. If there can be some upgrading, then may I ask whether the residents of the estate or the community leaders can be involved in the upgrading plans?

What else can we do to rejuvenate older flats so that they will be more pleasant, more airy and not deteriorate in terms of the living environment?

HDB Blocks Facade Repair

Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap (Aljunied): Sir, during a recent Parliament session, I proposed to the Ministry to roll out a national programme of facade repair for ageing HDB blocks in view of recent spates of external wall seepage. The Ministry replied that there are currently no plans to roll out such a programme as external wall seepage can be prevented through regular maintenance by the Town Council.

Additionally, it was mentioned that to address building facade issues, BCA will make it a requirement for building owner to perform a Periodic Facade Inspection (PFI) for all buildings above 20 years and above 13 metres in height commencing from second quarter of this year.

Sir, I acknowledge the role of the Town Council in conducting regular maintenance to common areas of HDB estate including blocks' external facade. As the Town Council chairperson, I am thankful that HDB is co-sharing with Town Councils the costs for Periodic Facade Inspection as well as repair works.

Nonetheless, Sir, I would like to suggest HDB to conduct cost-benefit analysis on whether rolling out a national programme for facade improvement and repair works for ageing HDB blocks would be a favourable option for such extensive works. In general, such an option is preferred due to economies of scale.

Sir, in managing public funds, fiscal prudence is paramount important. Hence, we should strive to adopt best practices. I believe this is HDB's fundamental consideration when they rolled out national programmes such as Neighbourhood Renewal Programme (NRP), Remaking Our Heartland Programme (ROH) and Carpark Upgrading Programme (CUP) in rejuvenating and refurbishing our ageing public housing estates.

Sir, I think it will be a wise move if HDB adopts a similar approach, that is, to roll out a national programme for facade repair work for ageing HDB blocks.

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong (Hougang): Mr Chairman, may I take my two cuts together?

The Chairman: Yes, please.

HDB Flats with No Lift Upgrading

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: Last month, the Minister for National Development replied to my Parliamentary Question (PQ), informing me that there are 150 HDB blocks which are not eligible for the Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP), blocks where there are still residents who do not have same floor access to lifts, that there is no need to inform residents in affected blocks directly that no LUP is available for now, as HDB will continue to explore new technical methods to bring down LUP costs, and to improve accessibility without direct lift access.

Presently, Hougang SMC has six such blocks. I have continued to receive requests from residents with no same-floor lift access, asking when their LUP will come. It seems like only if residents write in to HDB to ask for the upgrading will they be told the real reason for no upgrading to-date, for example, whether it is for reason of cost or due to technical constraints.

Notwithstanding my PQ, I would like to reiterate my request for HDB to provide an update to residents living in all such affected HDB blocks.

It is good to give some certainty to residents, tell all affected residents upfront the reason why HDB is not proceeding with LUP, whether it s because of cost issue for that block or because of some technical constraints.

For blocks where cost is the issue, some of my residents have asked that HDB should share with residents the costing involved, and how much each resident must pay, so that residents have a better understanding of the situation including deciding for themselves whether this is something they can afford and are willing to pay for. HDB should engage affected residents directly on its decision, on possible alternative lift installation methods, and also what can HDB provide to improve accessibility without direct lift access.

Safe Use of Park Connectors

Two years ago, I filed a cut with MND on the safe use of park connectors. I said that, depending on locations, the park connectors can be busy places and well used by many people for recreational purposes, as well as for commuters getting to or from nearby MRT stations or bus stops.

I highlighted my concern about safety of park connectors, particularly the uncertainty regarding the appropriate use of lanes provided on park connectors.

Two years on, there are a few changes in some PCN. In the PCN near my home, there is a change to the lane markings. They are now marked in red. The narrow lane has a pictorial sign showing "no e-scooter". The wider lane has a pictorial sign showing a bicycle. Occasionally, there is a sign on a post asking people to keep to their lanes with the pictorial showing two lanes side by side, one for cycling and one for walking. However, in other PCN, there are only pictorial indicators for cyclists and people on foot without any line drawn, or worse still, no separation, no indication at all.

Like what I have said two years ago, many people still walk on both lanes and from both directions, and cyclists and PMD users are often left wading through the traffic on both lanes frequently unsafely, especially during peak periods. Many cyclists are still using the lane for walking and many people on foot who are using the wider lane often do not keep left, including many people walking their dogs or pushing a stroller, forcing each other to swerve around them, including forcing cyclists onto the narrow lane.

Two years on, I feel that not much has changed. In the interest of safety, I am in support of having separate dedicated lanes for those on foot, for bicycles and PMD. If we want to mix them, they have to try much harder to ensure safe and orderly use by different users.

Once the extended cycling network is up, we may see the return of the e-scooters to our PCN in greater numbers. Their return will only exacerbate the present situation with the ill-disciplined and poorly policed use of the PCN.

I would like to ask the Minister again to increase both the public education and enforcement efforts by both NParks as well as LTA officers for the safe use of our PCN.

Land Use Plans amidst Changing Landscape

Mr Chong Kee Hiong (Bishan-Toa Payoh): Chairman, I declare my interest as the CEO of a Real Estate Investment Trust and my family has interests in real estate development.

COVID-19 has accentuated the structural changes that have been occurring in the real estate market. The uncertainty arising from this pandemic clashes with the prescriptive nature in our planning regime. While it provides clarity and certainty for developers and owners, it equally inhibits their creativity and results in laggard responses to market changes.

Over the years, the planners have injected greater flexibility into a prescriptive and segmented blueprint approach to planning. While zonings have provided the clarity much needed for driving the urban transformation during the early years, they may not be conducive in an era where innovation and flexibility are key. White zones, allowing market forces to decide on the eventual use out of a pre-approved list, have been successfully introduced. We could consider extending this further.

As an example, in the context of retail. The digital disruption in retail that started with the advent of e-commerce, has challenged the traditional concept of retailing. The transactional activity found in brick and mortar malls, has been greatly reduced. In response to this, many landlords have actively re-designated more space to prioritise experiential consumption, to play an enabling role to e-retailers, and also increased allocation of social space to be aligned to the current expectations of consumers.

As we have witnessed, there are inherent efficiencies when market is given some autonomy in allocating the best use for available space.

Perhaps we can adopt a more exclusionary approach to the land use definition rather than prescribing what is allowed? In other words, could we create a zoning where planners could continue to uphold the transparency of the planning regime by describing what is not permissible in the zone, conferring the private market the flexibility to interpret and build based on market forces and preferences?

We are living in a world where we are able to quite efficiently harness myriad views to add to our collective wisdom. Why not use this approach in our city planning as well? Our planning regime could be further enhanced with greater public involvement in the process.

Having many different voices not only make any final plans arising from this process more socially acceptable, the plurality of views should make them more resilient in the face of uncertainty and new challenges.

Nonetheless, with diversity comes greater disparity of opinions, and possibly higher friction and delay. How should we balance the trade-offs between the value of greater ownership and resilience and benefits of greater efficiency in planning and decision-making?

The Looming Housing Shortage Problem

Mr Leong Mun Wai (Non-Constituency Member): Chairman, there are growing signs that the shortage of BTO flats may become a serious problem. One indicator is the demand for rental units under the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (PPHS), which has risen to more than 12 times the available supply in February.

Minister Desmond Lee replied in Parliament in October 2020 that the BTO flat supply in 2020 was increased to about 16,700 flats to meet demand. We want to know if that is enough. What is the forecasted supply shortfall in each of the next five years?

In light of the constraints due to COVID-19, how is MND going to cope with maintaining the delivery schedule when the deployment of foreign workers has been hampered?

Is the introduction of new building technologies, a new focus in Budget 2021, going to contribute significantly to solving the problem in the next one to two years? Our reliance on cheap foreign labour has inhibited technological innovation in the past and we are doing catching up now.

Along with increasing new supply, we should also look into how to increase the number of rental flats to satisfy demand temporarily. One potential source of supply is to delay the demolition of the old HDB flats that have been the targets of the SERS or Selective En-bloc Re-development schemes.

Another avenue is for the Government to rent the vacant private units in the non-prime residential areas from private owners who are willing to rent out at a reasonable price, and then rent them out to the PPHS applicants.

According to property market statistics, there are 7% vacant units in the whole housing supply in the country.

While not an immediate solution, the Progress Singapore Party is in favour of making rental HDB flats a permanent choice in the long term. We had recommended the provision of small but good-quality rental flats for short-term occupation of up to five years as an additional housing option for young Singaporean families and to act as a buffer to absorb sudden surge in excess demand, so as to smooth out the property price cycle.

Housing is and will always be a very critical issue on our small island but more than anything, we should not bite off more than we can chew by trying to house too large a population. It is equally important for the Government not to make short-sighted decisions in destroying more forests while we try to overcome the current housing shortage problems.

4.00 pm

Commercial Spaces in HDB Multi-storey Carparks

Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim (Sengkang): Mr Chairman, the design of modern towns, such as Sengkang, the constituency I represent, tends to be denser, with commercial spaces and similar amenities located in specific clusters, often close to a transportation hub. Such design, undeniably makes sense from an urban planning perspective and can help minimise residential complaints pertaining to routine business operations, such as noise or trash.

The upshot, however, is that, compared to mature estates, modern towns often sacrificed more widely distributed nodes for gathering and social exchange since commercial spaces inevitably fulfil this function.

Another common feature of modern towns is that multi-storey carparks (MSCPs), especially those that go into the sixth or seventh floors may inadvertently be under-utilised, especially at the uppermost levels. This reflects not so much poor planning as much as the inherent difficult of adequately forecasting parking space demand at the point of construction. As our Government continues to plan its transition of our transportation towards a lower carbon future, demand for private transportation may fall even further, releasing even more spaces in our MSCPs. Needless to say, this represents an inefficient utilisation of our built environment.

I would like that HDB consider the possibility of designating in part or whole the topmost floors of HDB-owned multi-storey carparks for expanded commercial use. There is precedent in the conversion of segments of the MSCP for uses beyond the parking of vehicles. Most notably, many MSCPs now feature car wash space, typically with self-operated water jet and vaccum machines. HDB also grants permits for car grooming and car sharing businesses. However, special dispensation has historically also been granted to Town Councils for setting up office facilities.

As far as I am aware, however, there is no systematic scheme to permit the conversion of under-utilised MSCP space into other commercials uses, such as cafés or bubble tea shops or central kitchens. Enabling such use would not only provide additional hubs for residents to shop, eat and socialise. It would also offer convenient employment opportunities for locals who may wish to work for such businesses. For operations, such as central kitchens, the businesses may find themselves co-located closer to their customer bases.

Of course, there are potential costs that have to be considered when commercial activities are allowed to operate on the top decks of MSCPs. These include the obvious noise disturbances or expanded electricity baseloads but these are surmountable challenges. For instance, noise complaints could arise just as easily when residents choose to play football in the low use upper storeys of MSCPs. Similarly, many coffeeshops operate on the ground floor below MSCPs and generate comparable needs for electricity load and exhaust management.

Design of Use of Space due to Work from Home Arrangements

Prof Hoon Hian Teck (Nominated Member): Mr Chairman, it is not new that Singapore's urban form has, in part, been shaped by a stage of economic development.

In the 1960s when the manufacturer of labour intensive goods, such as textile, garments and simple electronics were produced by MNCs for sale into the world market, factories were built in industrial sites. Some of the earliest HDB flats were built in Jurong to house many of the workers who were employed in the nearby factories.

The COVID-19 pandemic, occurring at the stage of Singapore's economic development where indigenous innovation must drive productivity growth has the potential to also reshape our urban landscape. There is a network effect in achieving overall productivity improvement when most employees are to work-from-home (WFH).

Before COVID-19, the norm was for most employees to travel to the office and to work from there. If most employees are already in the office, it is inconvenient to have a few employees join in meetings remotely.

However, during the circuit breaker period with employees in non-essential services being required to work from home, many have found that work could actually be performed reasonably well. Investments have already been made in equipment to support work-from-home.

For MND, the issue to be raised here concerns the design of use of space in the business district, not just the central business district, and possible physical infrastructural support in housing estates to take account of the likelihood that even after COVID-19, as well as during a possibly long-drawn pandemic, WFH arrangements in some form might become a permanent fixture of working life. An idea is to design space use to support work-life balance for employees and to support an innovation-driven economy.

First, with more people working from home, there might be a need for bigger digital infrastructure investment to strengthen broadband services for people working from home.

With WFH becoming a permanent fixture of working arrangement for many employees, HDB estates can be organised to support two additional important roles of workers who have children or elderly parents: providing childcare and providing eldercare. To be sure, working from home can lead to overwork. It is hard to stop answering work-related emails, for example. Nevertheless, the flexibility afforded by WFH may allow, say, both husband and wife to work and fulfil the need to provide childcare and eldercare.

To work effectively from home, it helps to have an office within the house. For those without this, having access to specially design office space akin to a business centre in the HDB block might rise job satisfaction and worker productivity. Future designs of HDB blocks may seek to cater to these needs.

Second, with fewer workers travelling into the business district, there may be implication for rents as well as use of office space. It is too early to predict with any certainty the evolution of demand and supply conditions for office spaces in a post-COVID world. Nevertheless, there is likely to be some scope for urban redesign.

An argument made by some urban economists about why cities exist: because a lot of people in big countries concentrate together in a small geographical area. And why workers in cities earn higher wages is that there are positive externalities when innovative people are in close proximity to each other. By exchanging ideas with each other, the average productivity level is raised.

As Singapore aims to nurture a steady flow of innovators in its next phase of growth, perhaps MND can be intentional in supporting greater interconnectivity and close proximity of innovators in its urban redesign, in a post-COVID world.

To sum up, COVID-19, with its attendant lockdowns, quite unexpectedly enabled the business sector and public sector to conduct a natural experiment. Can work be productively done when most employees are working from home? There is some evidence that work productivity does indeed improve when employees work from home.

Even post COVID-19, there is a real possibility that work-from-home arrangements in some form may become a permanent feature of working life. There are then serious implications for urban design, both of the business district as well as the HDB heartlands. We can undertake the task of urban design with technology to enable workers to achieve work-life balance and to support an innovation-driven economy.

Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry (Kebun Baru): Mr Chairman, can I take my three cuts together?

The Chairman: Yes, please.

Greenfield versus Brownfield Development

Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry: Greenfield and brownfield development projects are both necessary as we continue to build up Singapore.

Yet, in selected situations, we have a choice on which way to go. Will MND consider developing internal guidelines to estimate lifecycle carbon emission for both greenfield and brownfield developments so that the Government can make the right carbon emission trade-offs on this decision which may shape the eventual decision on whether to go greenfield versus brownfield?

The recent discussions on greenfield development and the clearance of forest is a sign that Singaporeans are paying more attention to this issue. Therefore, having a clear framework to think through this will do much to help our Government maintain public support in the necessity of large scale developments and persuade Singaporeans that our Government leaves no stones unturned in trying to achieve the right balance between sustainability and progress.

Adapting Land Use Plan

The changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic accelerates an increasing uncertain future in urban planning. Even with mass vaccination, there is a range of possibilities on what will be the future needs of our people and our industry.

It will be helpful for our Government to tap on diverse views from the public and from the built sector on how we can finetune our land use policy. In fact, I personally feel that there is ample room for the Government to partner and co-create with our built sector.

URA's CBD incentive scheme and the strategy development incentive schemes are excellent ways to encourage the built sector to inject mixed-use development in the CBD. Could we consider expanding this effort to areas beyond the CBD? An interesting international example is the Reinventor Paris competition in 2014 where Paris opens up sites to ideas from all over the world to respond to as existing challenges.

As such, can MND share on how the Government can adapt our land use plans to respond to this changing trend? And can MND also share how we can consult and partner with our built sector or public to identify changing needs and new planning ideas?

HDB's Assisted Living for Seniors

Mr Chairman, vice-chair of the PAP Senior Group, senior housing is an issue that is very close to my heart and I spoke about this during the Private Member's Motion on senior policy in both 2019 and 2020. In particular, assisted living services for seniors are critical for seniors living in HDB estates to age in place with dignity and purpose.

I am heartened by the rapid progress made in this space. I noted that MND, HDB and MOH launched an assisted living topology pilot, which is the Community Care Apartment in February.

Within my constituency, we have explored the benefits of assisted living services. As such, I am certainly familiar not just of the complexity of such operations, but also the strong potential of such services to light up our seniors' lives. So, on behalf of our seniors, I would like to MND and MOH for pushing forth with the Community Care Apartment.

At this juncture, can MND provide an update on the project? Can MND also share on the public response and the take-up rate and will there be a future launches?

Temporary Development Levy

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song (Aljunied): The temporary development levy or TDL, is a tax payable when permission is granted for a temporary enhancement of the land value. The TDL can amount to tens of thousands of dollars payable by a small business every year and can form a significant portion of their business costs.

Tenancy agreements seldom specifying who is responsible for paying the TDL and tenants are often in a weaker bargaining position vis-a-vis their landlords when the TDL is levied. Often, the tenant is unaware of the TDL until they received the bill and would not have factored this into their business expenses. It can also be inequitable if the tenant bears the full TDL because the landlord also benefits from the enhancement of land value by being able to charge a higher rent to the tenant.

Could URA require that all change of use applications include an undertaking from the applicant that the TDL has been discussed between the landlord and tenant.

Second, for some industries, URA grants temporary permission or TP for only one year at a time. This can result in widely fluctuating TDL payable every year, making business planning difficult. Can URA provide businesses more certainty by providing them a choice of TP between three and five years to better align with typical commercial tenancy agreements? This will allow tenants to negotiate equitable rental contracts with their landlords and make other business plans.

Lastly, some businesses have lamented to me that their TDL far exceeds business revenue, especially during the pandemic. If businesses are unable to pay the TDL, they might have to close down, leading to losses to themselves, their landlords and their employees. The Government will also lose out on tax revenue. Can URA consider giving such businesses rebates or deferments of their TDL?

4.15 pm

More Diverse Housing Options

Mr Cheng Hsing Yao (Nominated Member): Chairman, I would like to declare that I work for a private real estate developer. Our housing market comprises broadly two distinct sectors, public HDB and private. I think the private sector can play a bigger role in innovating and scaling up new housing solutions to meet the needs of changing demographics, lifestyles and aspirations of our people. Drivers for demand in the market is quite complex, with an interplay of many social and economic factors. It never stands still. We may need to review some of the longstanding assumptions that continue to shape our policies.

One recent trend that rapidly became the norm is work from home. Its impact can be managed with a variety of new solutions. What is more complex to manage is our ageing population. It is not just a quantitative issue, it is also about the quality of life of our citizens, both young and old. It requires both hardware solutions, like age friendly designs, as well as software solutions like assisted living. And even if we found a suitable model, there is still the question of how to scale it up in a financially sustainable way so that we do not need to burden the state to continue to provide more subsidies.

Yet another trend is the reduction of household sizes. Besides more singles and smaller families, I have observed families splintering up into separate households when they have the means to. On the other hand, I have seen examples of relatives or friends buying separately in the same apartment block to create a kind of interdependent household.

A kind of housing that is becoming more prevalent in many other capital cities is Built To Rent (BTR), otherwise known as multi-family. These private rental developments are owned and managed by institutional landlords. They are different from service apartments as they are meant for longer term stays. I have observed overseas that they are attractive to young people, families, as well as retirees. They are professionally managed, often with handymen service, housekeeping or community engagement programmes. For retirees, they provide an option to monetise their homes and go for professionally managed rentals.

HDB has been very proactive in coming up with new solutions. I would like to see more private expertise, creativity and capital being tapped to create new housing solutions too.

In our highly regulated environment, the Government policies have a big impact in shaping the future of housing. The form of public/private sector participation as well. The BTR sector, for example, is an asset class sought after by many global institutional investors.

In the BTR sector I mentioned earlier, the private global capital is ready to be tapped in this instance. I hope the Government will find it useful to review a number of areas to encourage active and responsible participation by the private sector. These include land supply, zoning and development policies, how we attract capital and manage liquidity, how to encourage adoption of technologies and how to create a healthy eco-system of innovative developers and service providers.

The Chairman: Mr Louis Chua.

Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis (Sengkang): Chairman, permission to take three cuts together.

The Chairman: Yes, please.

Urban Rejuvenation and Land Flexibility

Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: Chairman, for our limited land area, Singapore's planning paradigm has been one of maximising the intensity of land use. COVID-19's economic impact may mean a need to re-evaluate our planning policy. The Minister for National Development has likewise noted the same in an earlier statement, that while it remains to be seen if the shift seen in COVID-19 will persist in the new normal, as technology changes and advances, there is a need to take a good hard look at land use needs for the future.

For example, the circuit breaker period has also shown the viability of working from home, which reduces the need for traditional single use commercial buildings and areas.

Land use is governed largely by the URA Concept Plan and Master Plan, the latter of which is reviewed every five years. However, beyond absolute land use designations and fixed plot ratios, such planning can arguably have more flexibility, considering the blurring of lines between different building use types, the prevalence of mixed use developments and higher frequency of building repurposing.

I recognise that the CBD Incentive Scheme and the Strategic Development Incentive Scheme were introduced with the aim of encouraging the rejuvenation of the CBD and other strategic areas in Singapore. The schemes were implemented from 27 March 2019 for a period of five years from the date of gazette for Master Plan 2019. Two years after they were introduced, how many developments have fulfilled the conditions of these schemes? Is the Government re-evaluating the conditions of the scheme to adapt to the post COVID-19 landscape today? And would the Government consider extending the rejuvenation schemes across the island to recognise and encourage greater creativity and flexibility in maximising the best use of our land and buildings?

Retention of HDB Flats for Divorcees under 35

Chairman, divorce proceedings are unfortunately more common than we would like them to be in Singapore, and the ownership of HDB flats is likely to come up as an issue in many of them. Individuals from the marriage without children are only allowed to retain the flat if they meet eligibility conditions such as being a Singapore Citizen, are at least 35 years old, and other prevailing conditions for retention of the flat under the Single Singapore Citizen Scheme. I recognise therefore for those with care and control of their children, they will be able to retain the flat subject to financial capabilities and other eligibility conditions.

Chairman, while I am aware that our housing policies are pro-family and current HDB rules allow for some residents in the middle of a divorce to retain their HDB flat, others have not been able to do so.

Individuals who are going through divorce proceedings are already going through a stressful period and mandating a sale of the flat adds on to the stress. Individuals who are forced to sell off their flat may not be able to readily relocate and it may not be the most financially prudent option, adding on to the pressures. Further, some of them do have the wherewithal to continue servicing the housing loan by themselves.

While the HDB may be concerned about abuse, I believe couples do not enter the marriage with divorce in mind. If divorce is already a source of significant stress, is there room to allow divorcees under 35 to retain their HDB flat, subject to meeting some prevailing eligibility conditions?

Availability of Rental Flats

Chairman, the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (PPHS) currently enables couples or single parent families to rent from the Government while waiting for the completion of their BTO HDB flat. However demand often outstrips supply.

Chairman, when I last checked on 24 February, PPHS applications have exceeded the number of flats available by 13.5 times. I believe this oversubscription is not unique to February alone with the PPHS for March two times oversubscribed despite being just two days into the month. With COVID-19 delays in HDB flat construction, there will inevitably be higher demands for HDB rental from families affected by the delays.

Beyond the PPHS, public rental scheme flats for the low income are also narrowly supplied, with demand outstripping supply despite a $1,500 household income per month cap for applicants. Tightened controls for rental applications may lower the number of applicants, but not the real demand for the rental market. There is a clear need for expanding a supply of rental public homes for those in need as well.

On the broader landscape of change how is MND readying itself for a growing millennial preference to rent rather than own a house. We have already seen the sharing economy take root in various areas of everyday life such as in transport, for example. This preference likely stems from both concerns on the affordability of home ownership and a preference for work mobility and flexibility. Is MND considering expanding the supply of rental housing by the HDB to meet this growing demographic trend?

The Chairman: Mr Lim Biow Chuan.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan (Mountbatten): Sir, can I take both cuts together?

The Chairman: Yes, please.

Rental Flats

Mr Lim Biow Chuan: Sir, for the past few years, 2014, 2015 and 2020, I had urged MND to review the policy of not allowing singles to rent flats on their own.

The reason is that some of these tenants may be elderly singles, who due to their age or behaviour, just cannot get along with another person in the same flat. Others may be Singaporeans who had married a foreign spouse but cannot rent a flat due to the foreign nationality of their spouse. And then, there are also divorcees who had to sell the flat after the divorce but cannot rent a flat because they do not have custody care and control of the children.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, when two singles who may be strangers to each other, and they are required to share a small space with each other, it does pose a huge stress point for both occupants. Their living environment would not be comfortable and they may have certain ingrained habits which make it difficult for them to adapt to living with each other. They have different standards of hygiene, different habits or medical conditions, and this may result in frequent quarrels. There may also be occasions when one of the occupants may just then shift out and sleep in the void deck.

There was a survey done a year ago, where 15% of the homeless interviewed say that they are a registered tenant in a public rental flat, but they had problems getting along with their co-tenant, and hence, they moved out and lived in the void deck.

Sir, I want to repeat my appeal to ask the Government to consider allowing singles to rent a 1-room HDB flat in exceptional circumstances. We should always encourage families to stay together; but on a case-by-case basis, allow singles to rent a 1-room flat. While it may be costly to allow a heavily subsidised flat to be rented to such singles, the government can show compassionate for singles who are truly in need.

I also urge the Government to consider having slightly bigger rental flats for families which may be larger. For example, if you have a couple with three or even four children, they would find it a squeeze to have to stay within a 2-room flat. Basically, a 2-room flat would be a single bedroom with hall. So there will be only one bedroom for the parents and the children, whether it is three or four of them, they would all have to sleep in the living room.

So I urge that HDB to review the policy of only having 1- to 2-room rental flats and allow larger rental flats for families which are larger.

Community Relationships

Sir, COVID-19 has changed the way we live, work and play. Many residents have to spend more time at home because of the work from home policy. This has created more tension within the neighbourhood and the HDB estate because the working adult who used to work in an air conditioned office may not be used to the home living environment. There is more noise, there's possibly cigarette smoke from neighbours, and sometimes you may face unhygienic droppings from pigeons or cats. Over the past months, I have received more complaints from residents about noise from their neighbours, about smokers who smoke outside their windows and the smoke drifts into their flat, about pigeons and cat droppings.

The silver lining, Sir, is that we get to spend more time with our families at home, and we are in closer proximity with our neighbours more than ever. This is really a good opportunity to encourage residents to get to know our neighbours better, foster a sense of ownership for the shared living environment.

During the COVID-19 circuit breaker, some neighbours had set up a WhatsApp chat group so that they can order food together to enjoy economies of scale. The question is whether we can tap on this source neighbourly friendship to look out for one another. May I ask, what else can MSO do to encourage community ownership and good neighbourliness so that we can live harmoniously with each other? In that way, we can develop more mutual respect and understanding with our neighbours.

The Chairman: Miss Carrie Tan.

Ms Carrie Tan (Nee Soon): Mr Chairman, permission to take two cuts together.

COVID-19 Public Housing Rental Relief

Ms Carrie Tan: In 2018, there was a study done to examine the healthcare utilisation of the low-income community in Singapore. It found that staying in public rental housing was associated with poorer health outcomes and health status. Another study found that patients living in rental housing were more likely to have heart disease commonly associated with stress, were more likely to use anti-depressant medication, staying in hospitals longer than other income groups and more frequently re-admitted into hospital.

A resident of mine, Mr X, has a knee condition but kept delaying his surgery, in order to feed his four kids. His wife is unable to work due to a slipped disc for which she needs surgery. Mr X cycles for hours every day as a Grab delivery rider to make ends meet, and I worry about what happens when his knees finally give way.

4.30 pm

Another resident Mr Y in his 50s has to go for another surgery or one surgery after another. The first to fix a workplace injury preventing him from working for two years, and then a stomach surgery for ulcer, and now he is being assessed for possible cancer. He cried to me, saying he feels so defeated because he cannot even afford to buy small snacks or treats for his grandchildren. He feels that he has failed as a father and grandfather.

Although some of these residents already pay very low rent each month, thanks to the subsidies from HDB, the fear that they may lose having shelter over their heads is a real one and a real stress point. Even $100 rent a month is a stress point for someone in Mr X and Mr Y's circumstances, and there are many of them. High stress leads to more ill health which leads to more medical bills and more stress. It is a vicious cycle.

I urge MND to waive the rental fees of all public housing residents for a minimum of six months to a year. Even though HDB does provide additional subsidies when appeal letters are sent, the stress of having to go see a Member of Parliament, and uncertainty about outcomes is still a stressful process. A blanket waiver of rent for at least six months will give much needed reprieve to these families who live on the brink.

Public Rental Housing Optimisation

Land scarcity in Singapore is a fact of life. Amidst increased public pressure and attention on inequality, we need to provide better public rental housing in order to rehabilitate low-income families more effectively. How can we do so without incurring larger costs?

On one hand, we have large families in small rental flats, struggling with overcrowding. Single mothers and fathers are struggling to find care so they can go out to work. On the other hand, we have isolated elderly in HDB flats, suffering loneliness, with rising risk of elderly suicide.

We can kill two birds with one stone, by putting isolated elderly and single parent families together to optimise resources for better social outcomes.

The cost savings from building new rental flats can be used instead as rent paid out to financially challenged and isolated elderly flat-owners, if they are willing to open up their homes to single parents and their children.

Such a programme would provide a larger housing supply without incurring more building costs, improve retirement adequacy for the poor seniors, reduce their social isolation as well as provide informal care and support for the children and youth of single parents. Chairman, in Mandarin.

(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] In Singapore, we have two groups of people who face different difficulties. On one hand, many large families live in a small rental flat and do not have enough space. Single parents often do not have anyone to take care of their children when they want to work. On the other hand, many isolated elderly live alone in HDB flats. Data shows that the risk of them committing suicide is higher. Hence, I would like to propose this scheme whereby we put single parent families with isolated elderly together, killing 2 birds with 1 stone and solving the problems mentioned above.

Under this scheme, if the elderly are willing to let single parent families to move into their home, the authorities can convert the cost of building new flats into a sort of rental income for the elderly, and help reduce their financial burden. This will increase the supply of newer and larger rental flats and save construction cost. More importantly, the elderly will have company and children from single parent families will not become “latch-key kid”.

(In English): I urge MND to consider this mutual rental programme as an opt-in programme and to pilot with elderly who are willing. Implementation is bound to be challenging, as personality dynamics will play a big part in the success of such a programme. Getting a good match is critical. It is key that the matching of elderly to families is done socially and not purely administratively.

I believe by having close collaboration amongst the ComLink agencies on the ground on such an initiative, we can see much improved social outcomes, with less costs, to optimise the care and well-being of our people.

The Chairman: Mr Chong Kee Hiong.

Mr Chong Kee Hiong (Bishan-Toa Payoh): Chairman, can I take my two cuts together?

The Chairman: Yes, please.

Joint Singles Scheme

Mr Chong Kee Hiong: Thank you. The Joint Singles Scheme, which requires a single tenant to rent a flat together with a flat mate, can lead to difficulties if the flat mates do not get along. Can MND and HDB do more to address this issue?

We have seen cases from time to time of flat mates not having an easy time living together in the same flat. While they are thankful for being provided a roof over their heads, and at a level of affordability which is in line with their income, they are under a lot of stress to get used to living with someone who may be very different from their own personalities and backgrounds and who may not share the same habits and lifestyles.

We have to be mindful that these are two strangers who have to stay together. I hope the Ministry can do more to increase the level of comfort for them. Has HDB done any research or survey to find out what are the common issues raised and whether it had been able to resolve them? If not, would the Ministry consider doing so and keeping the records for future reference to inform officers assisting these tenants?

In addition, I have some other suggestions.

Firstly, would HDB consider allowing applicants to specify some parameters in terms of their ideal housemate so that HDB can use these criteria to match the different applicants, for example, whether they are on shift work, smoker or non-smoker, along similar demographics such as age or dialect group and so forth?

Secondly, would HDB consider assigning dedicated counsellors to assist the flat mates to familiarise themselves with each other in the first month of sharing the flat, and giving advice at the early stage to prevent future problems?

Finally, could HDB set up a task force to address issues pertaining to conflicts and complaints between flat mates? The task force should be empowered to mediate and make recommendations such as early termination of the Tenancy Agreement and matching or replacement of tenant and so on.

Larger Flats for Rental Housing

Chairman, I would like to request if MND and HDB would consider supporting larger families in public rental housing by providing larger flats?

They may be families with more children or have elderly parents and parents-in-law. Due to personal circumstances, they are unable to live apart and it is not always possible to find them separate rental flats in the same block to house them all. Hence, overcrowding becomes a big problem for such families, leading to tensions.

Due to a lack of space, some members of these families might be staying out of the assigned flat due to the cramped or hostile atmosphere in the home. This is not safe for them, to be sleeping rough outside. Their health and ability to study or work productively are also affected.

For youths who loiter outside of home more often, this may lead to higher chances of them becoming wayward and delinquent, and expose them to crimes.

I would like to ask the Ministry what is the average family size of those applying for rental flats? Are there options for bigger rental units for families with four members or more?

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of the work-from-home movement. With the current trend of working and learning from home, the need for more space at home for each member of the family has become more pronounced. It is no different for these families living in the rental HDB flats.

Can the Ministry provide more information on how these needs have been met in the past and how can we provide better living environment for rental flat residents? This is especially so for families with school-going children.

HDB Rental Flats for Singles

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang (Nee Soon): Sir, I am glad that we have reformed our housing policies for single unwed parents. I thank HDB for providing the much needed helping hand to the single unweds.

We can do more also for singles. Many of the lower income singles are in need of rental housing due to various circumstances and many are seniors.

HDB does help under the Joint Singles Scheme (JSS), which requires single tenants to rent a flat together with a flat mate. As they are single, many are unable to find a flat mate and are in the end housed with a stranger. I am sure many Members in this House would have handled MPS cases of flat mates not getting along.

I do understand HDB’s concerns that there may not be an ample supply of rental flats to cater for every single to rent a flat alone. However, I understand MND does allow a person to rent a flat alone on a case-by-case basis. Can MND review the JSS and consider publishing a set of specific criteria under which a person can rent a flat alone?

Legalise Cat Ownership in HDB Flats

I spent more than a quarter of my life speaking up about our policy of not allowing the keeping of cats in HDB flats. I last spoke up about this last year, providing various solutions to the concerns MND has.

I hope we can change our policy to reflect what we already accept in reality – that HDB residents are allowed to keep cats, which can be removed if they are found to cause disamenities in the community.

This is an issue that affects thousands who currently live in HDB flats and keep cats. It also affects Singaporeans overseas. Sallie wrote to me recently and said, "Thank you for raising this issue again. It is one of the reasons why I can’t come back to Singapore. I have two cats here in Bangkok and I have no place to keep them. I can only afford to buy a HDB flat if I go home as I can’t possibly afford private properties."

I hope this year and at this COS, we will finally have the good news that we will allow the keeping of cats in HDB flats with specific conditions that will address any issues of disamenities. I should add that Speaker supports this change in policy as well.

The Chairman: I am supposed to be neutral. Mr Xie Yao Quan.

Community Care Apartments

Mr Xie Yao Quan (Jurong): Chairman, the Minister for National Development has answered questions in this House on Community Care Apartments which is an assisted living typology pilot that is not just about housing but also the integration of care and social services.

Can I ask the Ministry to share more details about its plans for future launches to keep up with market demand and, at the same time, because this is about care and social services as well, what are the Ministry's plans to ensure quality and sustainable development of services?

Also, bearing in mind that the services can cost quite a significant amount, how would the Ministry ensure that applicants who need these services, applicants for whom the assisted living typologies clearly designed for but may, nonetheless, have difficulties affording such services, how would the Ministry ensure that such applicants would not be excluded from the scheme simply because of financial means?

Assistance for Ethnic Integration Policy-affected Flat Sellers

Mr Saktiandi Supaat (Bishan-Toa Payoh): Mr Chairman, the ethnic integration (EIP) policy remains an important policy in Singapore. It prevents the formation of ethnic enclaves and encourages Singaporeans of different races to mingle in the same community. It ensures that there is adequate minority representation of the population within the neighbourhood estate.

But there are unexpected or unintended economic consequences from the EIP for the last few minorities in the block. The problem with the EIP is that it restricts the pool of potential buyers and sellers of HDB flats for minorities, potentially creates artificial inequalities or negative externalities in the medium to long run.

Amidst the pandemic, some Singaporeans who faced financial difficulties are seeking to monetise their flats and downgrade to a smaller one. For a pocket of minority Singaporeans, this is particularly challenging as they have fewer to no prospective buyers to sell their flats to. They may have to sell their flats at a much lower than market rate to make it more appealing to same ethnicity buyers. This price may barely cover what they have to pay for their new purchase which greatly impacts on their financial plans.

I have been approached by a number of my Malay, Indian and Eurasian elderly and middle-aged residents want to downgrade and sell their flat as they are in part affected by the COVID-related crisis or need extra funds for an emergency or healthcare needs.

Besides the case-by-case basis now via time extensions, would MND consider helping these flat owners by providing a discount on their next purchase and EIP price harmonisation grant to potentially reduce an indirect negative market effects of the EIP? It could also encourage them to sell their flats at a lower price to buyers of the same group.

Affordability and Inclusivity in HDBs

Neighbourliness and Community Ownership

Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin (Ang Mo Kio): Chairman, housing is an essential part of our lives. My flat is more than just an address. It is my safe space and home.

During the 2019 National Day Rally, Prime Minister announced that prime land in Singapore Greater Southern Waterfront will be slated for urban development. More public housing projects are also slated to be launched in city centre locations. However, flats situated on prime land suggest a higher cost than most current BTO flats.

I would like to ask the Minister what are the plans to ensure that new HDB flats, regardless of the location, will remain affordable for all Singaporeans and given that prime locations will appeal to many, what are some of the measures being considered to give Singaporeans an equal chance and if there are measures to maintain the inclusive and diverse characteristics of HDB estates in prime areas?

To meet the diverse housing needs of our population, including first-timer families, seniors and singles, the HDB has also introduced innovative types of public housing such as the Community Care Apartments which other hon Members have spoken about. These flats can start from prices as low as $52,000 and have variable leases and even come with advanced care options such as housekeeping. I am very grateful that we are piloting new models. This is critical and I am also glad that we are caring for our seniors.

I would also like to ask the Minister whether there are studies or information on the potential impact of the new housing models on the values of existing flats around them and how can the Ministry ensure that new models of flats will not adversely affect existing home owners in the same area.

4.45 pm

When we stay in our homes, we do not just stay alone. Each block or street, houses the community and COVID-19 has shifted our lifestyles and many of us are spending more time at home and in our neighbourhood. As a result, there was an increase in reports of feedback on social disamenities from 280 per month to about 2,100 per month in April to June 2020.

However, COVID-19 has also brought about many positive stories and examples of neighbourliness. For example, sanitisers in lives or people who volunteered to buy food for those who may not have been as mobile.

How is MSO leveraging this opportunity to nudge or grow community ownership of common spaces in good neighbourliness, and where neighbour relationships have broken down, how can agencies better work together to intervene and help resolve neighbour disputes in both public and private estates?

Technology to Improve Service Delivery

Mr Yip Hon Weng (Yio Chu Kang): Chairman, I am glad to hear that the Municipal Services Office (MSO) improves service delivery by leveraging on technology.

The AI-powered chatbot and OneService app appear to share some overlapping features. With the Chatbot introduction, what are plans for the OneService app to keep it relevant? What functions are the Chatbot able to fulfill, which the OneService app cannot, and vice versa?

I am concerned about the chatbot's ability to accurately predict the case category and owner, based on the feedback. What accuracy is it able to achieve? What will happen if the chatbot is unable to make the correct prediction? Does it only accept feedback on municipal issues? Residents may not be able to distinguish between municipal and non-municipal issues. Can residents be assured that their feedback will be adequately handled with no compromise to service quality, even if there is a mistake in the category?

Promoting Community Ownership

Mr Baey Yam Keng (Tampines): Mr Chairman, in Tampines North, I have been quite involved in the block repainting projects done by the Town Council. I feel that it is important that our blocks look good and residents live in a neighbourhood that they can identify with and have a sense of belonging.

Therefore, I have been working closely with the contractor to design colour schemes. Only when personally satisfied with the designs, do we offer the options for residents to choose from. We even give names to the design themes and I am happy that so far, we have completed the #TampinesTVscreen and #TampinesTudor series, and we are in the process of painting the #TampinesTingkat and #TampinesKuehlapis designs.

Some of them have become popular spots for Instagram postings. The Tampines TV Screen has even inspired UNIQLO's 2019 National Day neighbourhood t-shirt design for Tampines, and more recently the TV Screen block façade was featured in Disney+'s promotional video. I am happy that this design and colour scheme was selected by residents in 2015 with an overwhelming 58% vote among three options.

There are many other estate improvement projects like Neighbourhood Renewal Programme and the Home Improvement Programme which require, and rightfully so, residents' support through a voting process. Voting is typically done manually, requiring physical forms or manual voting. Given the popularity of OneService app, I hope that the MSO could look at providing a voting or straw poll function. This is especially so during the current pandemic when we need to minimise gatherings of people and physical interactions.

Such a feature could also be useful in gathering inputs from the community on local issues. For example, sometimes, we have residents complaining of people gathering at the void deck seating area during wee hours causing a noise nuisance, and requests to remove the seating. However, there could also be responsible users at other times of the day, for instance neighbours having a chit chat at the void deck or elderly taking a rest on the way home from the market.

We typically ask grassroots leaders who live there for their observations, but these tend to be anecdotal and may not be very data driven. A digital survey could reach a potentially different and bigger segment of the population to supplement the information for a better considered decision.

However, local organisations like Grassroots and Town Council would not have the critical mass or scale to develop a robust platform for such surveys. So, I hope that MSO could consider developing one and offer the platform for the Town Council or organisations to reach out to residents so that we can promote greater community ownership and good neighbourliness.

Technology Improvements on OneService

Municipal Services

Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling (East Coast): Mr Chairman, during circuit breaker last year, many services came to a halt. In a few months, trees and grass areas were overgrown, drains and common area maintenance were affected around the island. While some people enjoyed the nature and welcome the sights of wild flora and fauna around the neighbourhood, there were others who were concerned about safety of overgrown tree crowns or affected due to allergy and sensitive health condition.

I know that essential services had continued to be provided in as many areas as possible, but we had to face the reality that some services were unable to be carried out for a variety of reasons. Can Minister share during the pandemic, to what extent were the delivery of municipal services affected, what were the challenges the Government agencies faced, and how did the agencies address these challenges to maintain the municipal service standards in Singapore?

Since the introduction of OneService app, I have received positive feedback from residents about the app. I am also a user of OneService app and agree with this view. However, there are other feedback that closing the loop on matters can still be further improved. Sometime, the approach used and resolution of the matter does not effectively address the fundamental problem or had not met the expected outcome of the complainant. How can closing the loop on such matters raised be better managed moving forward?

MSO announced last year a series of technological improvements such as improving accessibility to services through OneService Lite and AI-powered chatbot. I am certainly supportive of using technology to enhance efficacy of processes and deliver more impactful results. Can MSO provide an update on the improvements that have been made and what other technology-enabled service and improvements can residents look forward to?

Over time, we need to evolve the OneService app beyond a reporting tool. During the re-opening of Phase Two, we have seen that the app being used by public to notify the agencies on cases of violation for not wearing masks and not complying to safe social distancing. This may have helped the management of safe distancing and accelerated the habit of public complying to new measures. But, it may also have inevitably created the effect of some divisiveness in the community and not promote a positive sense of active citizenry.

Given the strong calls for strengthening kampung spirit in the community, can the app be used as a one-stop neighbourhood platform to connect the community, enable residents' participation and pull resources from a social support angle? Let me give a few examples.

First, provision of community services. With an aging population, there is possibly an increase of seniors living without extended family support. The app could serve dual purpose. One, for individuals with handy skills, they can help families do simple jobs of plumbing, changing fixtures, and so on, and earn some side income. Two, volunteers nearby schools and community partner organisations can take this as value in action community project, to give back to those who are in need, such as assisting in grocery shopping and also help with the cleaning of their homes.

Second, green community resource panel. As we encourage more to join us on the sustainability journey, I am sure those who do not actively participate today, may want to know more or where they can begin. The app can provide information for those interested to do community gardening, corridor gardening or urban farming; an opportunity to learn from others with green fingers, exchange notes and other green initiatives to be more successful gardeners. Or the community can exchange secondhand items to reduce usage of new purchases and help some families save on expenses if they have spare resources available. This way, we can become more environmentally conscious with more rallying each other to learn, exchange and reduce wastage.

Lastly, build neighbourliness in the community. High-rise littering, cat feeding, noise disturbances and smoking at unauthorised areas are long-standing issues that we have been tackling. There is no silver bullet on how to resolve these. But through availability of data uncovering the root cause and with the help of artificial intelligence, it may minimise the issue if we leverage technology, establish community groups and link them to outreach the offenders or the trigger points, so that they can work on education, encouragement of behavioural change together with various agencies.

We may, in the course of action, meet vulnerable individuals and families who need social or mental healthcare that the community can provide to make a difference. This goes beyond a carrot and stick approach in managing sticky issues. I believe we should be open and pilot initiatives to check should this approach help reduce neighbourly disputes, while creating active participation from the complainants and others in the community to tackle the problems and find solutions together.

Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry (Kebun Baru): Chairman Sir, can I take my cuts together?

The Chairman: Yes, please.

Construction Industry Transformation Map

Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry: There is an urgent need to reorganise the entire built sector which is facing a large number of simultaneous challenges, namely: the changing nature of demand of the built sector in the post-COVID-19 world; uncertainty in future source availability and cost of both skilled and unskilled foreign workers in the sector; the challenge of encouraging Singaporeans to come into the sector even as more jobs in the construction sector are more skill-based and working conditions have improved; the need to drive productivity through prefab, digitisation and capital intensive technology; the need to rebuild and remake our buildings not just new, but also current buildings to factor in new green standards; and last of all coping of the current industry cyclical downturn.

The sector's direction is spelled out under the Construction Industry Transformation Map. Previously the Government has driven industry transmission in three key areas. One, design for manufacturability and assembly; two, integrated digital delivery; and three, green buildings. Moving forward, what are the Government plans to encourage industry transmission in these three areas and are there any other areas of transmission that MND is looking for?

Built Environment Sector Carbon Emissions

Buildings account for over 20% of Singapore's carbon emission. As such, there is a need to remake our city to prepare for climate change. On this note, I would like to share some feedback on the Green Mark scheme. On the good side, the influence of a Green Mark goes beyond our shores and increasingly it is the go-to standards that the private sector in nearby countries adopt.

However, there could also be an improvement. One common feedback is that we need to ensure that the Green Mark Standard is able to capture the big picture of sustainability. For example, how do you build a building to maximise external air flow which will fundamentally drive down the cooling of the entire building. This is in comparison, making sure that the Green Mark Standard become more than just a checkboard place off, achieving high quality green standards.

As such, can MND share on what more can be done to improve energy and resource efficiency in the built environment sector?

Singapore Green Building Masterplan

The Government announced or at COS 2020 that various stakeholders will be invited to co-create the next edition of the Singapore Green Building Masterplan. While necessary it is also adding in a new layer of complexity at the time when the built sector was at the crossroads, as per what I mentioned earlier.

The built sector has to juggle foreign and local manpower shortages, industry transformation, changing demand and industry downturn. So, while the many in the built sector whom I spoke to welcome the challenge, it is also important that we strike the right balance by consulting as many stakeholders in the built sector.

As such, can I get MND to share on the progress made on the Green Masterplan? I also want to voice a word of caution as a Member of Parliament, passionate about sustainability, having green standards out is very good. But we must live sufficient room for added inputs to factor in the rapidly changing Singapore built industry landscape, as well as the post-COVID-19 need, so the new Green Building Masterplan can remain as relevant as possible.

Mr Xie Yao Quan (Jurong): Chairman, can I take my three cuts together?

The Chairman: Yes, please.

Green Buildings

Mr Xie Yao Quan: Chairman, the built environment sector has been hit hard by COVID. The Government has stepped forward decisively to help the sector tide over with support measures such as the Construction Support Package, which co-funds additional costs that construction companies have to incur to put in place safety measures, as well as the Job Support Scheme and its various extensions to help businesses in the sector defray salary costs for Singaporeans and protect jobs and capabilities in the sector.

The Government has also committed to providing relief for some of the non-manpower costs that construction firms in public sector projects will incur due to the prolongation of projects and there has been legislation such as a universal extension of time to help all contracting parties bear fair share of the impact of project prolongation. So, a whole suite of measures. And yet the sector continues to face an uncertain outlook this year. In this light, how will the Government continue to support firms in the sector to recover in the near term?

5.00 pm

Transforming Built Environment Sector

At the same time, COVID-19 has shown we must transform the built environment industry to improve productivity and, importantly, reduce reliance on foreign manpower.

Under the construction industry transformation map (ITM), the Government has identified two key areas. One, design for manufacturing and assembly, or DFMA; and, two, integrated digital delivery, or IDD.

On DFMA, there has been encouraging progress. In 2019, the sector achieved a 31% DFMA adoption rate in terms of gross floor area. I also understand that amongst construction tenders to be called in the next two years, up to 85 of these projects, both public and private, will require DFMA technologies. In particular, for prefabricated prefinished volumetric construction, or PPVC, and advanced precast concrete system, or APCS technologies, BCA is looking to raise the adoption rate to up to 70% by 2025.

For IDD, I understand that there are over 35 public and private sector projects piloting this, such as the Health Sciences Authority Building and Rochester Commons at 19 Nassim by private developers.

Can the Ministry share further updates on the progress of both DFMA and IDD within the construction ITM framework? And moving forward, what are the Government's plans to further drive industry transformation in these areas? And more specifically, what would this mean for Singaporeans in terms of the number and type of job opportunities?

Mr Chairman, the built environment sector is made up of many interconnected stakeholders along the value chain, including developers, builders, consultants, contractors, facilities managers. Rather than a single firm or segment of the value chain transforming on its own, Deputy Prime Minister has announced the Growth and Transformation scheme for the entire built environment sector. Can the Ministry share further details and, again, what would it mean ultimately for job opportunities for Singaporeans?

Supporting Built Environment Sector

Buildings account for over 20% of Singapore's carbon emissions. To-date, more than 40% of our buildings have been greened under the BCA Green Mark certification scheme.

Last December, Keppel Bay Tower became the first commercial building in Singapore to be certified Green Mark Platinum Zero Energy. Besides a low energy use index of less than 115 kilowatt hour per square metre per year, the building has all of its energy supplied through renewable sources, both on and offsite. However, as Minister Desmond Lee said earlier today, we need to do more to ensure that both our existing and future buildings in Singapore are designed to conserve energy and water and minimise materials wastage.

Minister also shared about the "80: 80: 80" by 2030 targets under the next edition of the Singapore Green Building masterplan. And as the Member Mr Henry Kwek said just now, the Government has also announced at COS last year that various stakeholders will be invited to co-create this next edition of the masterplan. In this regard, can the Ministry provide an update on its progress and what are the plans going forward?

Transform Built Environment Industry

Ms Poh Li San (Sembawang): Mr Chairman, echoing the views of Members Mr Kwek and Mr Xie, the built environment sector took a severe hit as a result of the pandemic. Many construction companies are badly affected due to the drastic reduction in the supply of foreign workers in the construction sector. As a result, there is a significant increase in the daily wages and other associated costs of hiring foreign workers. Understandably, cashflow becomes a major problem as project milestone payments are delayed. In view of this tight situation, how can MND and BCA help the construction industry tide over this difficult period?

Looking ahead, the construction industry will have to accelerate industry transformation, to shift from heavy manpower-intensive processes and leverage technologies that enable higher productivity and effectiveness, for example, using drones for land surveillance and progress updates, robotics and autonomous platforms to assist workers in the heavy lifting tasks in construction sites.

Having said that, many of such enablers would require heavy initial investment in equipment and software and the retraining of existing staff. How can the built environment sector be further incentivised to adopt the latest technology solutions in construction, either to reduce the dependence on foreign workers or improve productivity in construction?

I would also like to ask about property prices in Singapore. Property prices have continued to rise, defying the typical downward trend in a recession. As the costs of construction increase, we can expect the property prices to rise further and developers will obviously pass the higher costs onto the buyers. With more than 80% of our population staying in public housing, can we assure Singaporeans that public housing will be kept affordable, inclusive and liveable even with the rising cost of development?

The Chairman: Minister Desmond Lee.

The Minister for National Development (Mr Desmond Lee): Mr Chairman, this past year, we have all had to wrestle with the challenges thrown at us by COVID-19.

It has not been easy. But through close cooperation between the Government, industry and community partners, we have made good progress.

We provided significant support to firms in the Built Environment sector through one of its darkest moments. We worked hard to get our BTO projects back on track and assisted many buyers affected by inevitable construction delays. For homeowners and public rental tenants who faced financial challenges, we helped them with their mortgage and rent payments. To assist businesses renting commercial or industrial properties, we put in place various cost-sharing arrangements and relief measures. I would like to thank all our partners, the industry and the community as well as many of our officers, both in the headquarters and the frontlines, for the heavy lifting all these months.

But we are not out of the woods yet and must remain vigilant. At the same time, we must keep our eye on the future, learn the lessons from this pandemic and come out stronger from this experience. Our work to build an ever more resilient, inclusive and sustainable Singapore must continue.

One major enterprise is the Singapore Green Plan. For these efforts to bear fruit, we need all Singaporeans to be actively involved. And that is why, over the past few months, MND agencies conversed with Singaporeans through nine Emerging Stronger Conversations about our city, our home and our environment. We have heard many thoughtful suggestions and thank everyone who participated for their enthusiasm and passion. And we will continue to reach out, in dialogue and partnership, to work with Singaporeans to realise their vision for our city and turn their ideas into action.

Today, I will explain how we intend to do so, in three areas. First, we want to strengthen our Built Environment sector and transform the way we design, build and maintain our city. Second, we seek to design a new HDB housing model, to ensure that prime areas of our city remain diverse and inclusive for Singaporeans from all walks of life. And finally, we want to pursue our goal of a City in Nature. My colleagues will thereafter cover other areas of MND's core work. Together, these are among MND's key priorities for this term of Government, as we set out in our Addendum to the President's Address, at the opening of Parliament last year.

Let me begin with our plans for the Built Environment sector, which Members like Ms Poh Li San and Mr Xie Yao Quan and others have asked about. The sector was hit very hard by COVID-19. During the circuit breaker period, most construction work was suspended and many companies struggled. Even when projects could resume, the challenges mounted – ensuring the health of our foreign workers, implementing safe management measures and so on. There was tremendous uncertainty and a lot of coordination and daily adjustments were needed on the ground, as the situation kept evolving. In fact, in the early days of this crisis, we had literally daily meetings with our partners and our trade associations every day to adjust, to understand what was going on and to work together.

Through it all, the Government had worked with firms to help them tide over these difficulties. We strived to ensure that no one segment of the value chain in the Built Environment sector bore a disproportionate share of the impact.

So, to do this, we provided significant financial support, through a $1.36 billion Construction Support Package, waivers and rebates of the Foreign Worker Levy and wage subsidies under the Jobs Support Scheme.

Through the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act, we imposed a moratorium to protect the affected firms from contractual lawsuits and required developers to share in the costs of construction delays due to COVID-19. In response to industry feedback, we are working with the Singapore Contractors Association Ltd (or SCAL) and other trade associations and chambers (TACs) to facilitate claims for prolongation costs.

We also extended the Project Completion Period and the Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty remission timelines, to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on developers. At the same time, we provided protection to purchasers from developers, in cases where the purchasers had difficulties making their contractual payments on time.

It has been an extremely challenging time. But with the perseverance of our companies and Government agencies and partners, we will ride through this together.

We now project that construction demand will recover to some extent in the next few years. This year, we expect $23 billion to $28 billion worth of projects to be awarded, up from $21 billion last year.

We will continue to monitor industry demand closely, given the uncertainties of the pandemic. If needed, we will bring forward some of our planned public sector projects to help support the industry, as Mr Yip Hon Weng had suggested during the Budget debate.

We also recognise that the industry still faces serious challenges even though works have resumed. Safe management measures on worksites have affected productivity, while restrictions on the inflow of foreign workers have resulted in a labour crunch and higher manpower costs.

We are aware of these issues and are working closely with our partners and our agencies to address them. For example, with MOM and MOH, we are reviewing whether the safe management measures on worksites can be adjusted, but we need to balance this against a possible increase in transmission risks onsite – especially since in the last few weeks, we have seen cases again popping up in the construction sector. We are also working with agencies to see how we can ease the tight manpower situation for companies.

But above all, this experience has strengthened our resolve to accelerate the pace of change as set out in our Industry Transformation Map and decisively transform the way we design, build and maintain our city, once and for all. We cannot go back to how we used to do construction in the past.

We have heard this conviction echoed more resolutely in many of our conversations with industry partners. We will, therefore, embark on three complementary strategies, to give a stronger push for the sector's transformation.

First, we will enhance Government support to uplift the entire Built Environment value chain. Second, we will strengthen our regulations to spur productivity growth and reduce reliance on foreign manpower. And third, we will step up our research and development (R&D) efforts to create and deploy innovative solutions in the Built Environment sector. Let me speak about each of these in turn.

First, on enhancing Government support for transformation. In the Built Environment sector, unlike many other sectors, there are heavy inter-dependencies among different stakeholders along the value chain. Developers work with builders and consultants on each project, who, in turn, rely on multiple tiers of contractors and sub-contractors for different aspects of the project.

Given these inter-linkages, it is difficult for any one firm in the value chain to transform on its own. And this pandemic has shown that we are only as strong as the weakest link in the chain.

We will, therefore, enhance Government support to further integrate and strengthen the entire value chain holistically, through a new Growth and Transformation Scheme, or GTS, which Deputy Prime Minister has announced in the Budget speech.

This value chain approach differs from existing schemes in two important respects.

First, unlike existing schemes that support individual firms, the GTS supports alliances of firms across the entire value chain, with the view of uplifting the entire Built Environment eco-system.

Second, existing schemes focus on individual projects, which can result in contractors operating at very thin margins to meet short-term targets, without the capacity to invest in long-term transformation. In contrast, the GTS supports firms in improving their capabilities, not just in completing specific projects.

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The GTS will support the formation of strategic alliances among progressive developers, builders, consultants and sub-contractors across the entire value chain. Each alliance will develop a business plan of at least three years, showing how the alliance will increase productivity by using Design for Manufacturing and Assembly and the digital spine we call the Integrated Digital Delivery model. It should also seek to achieve sustainability targets, build better capabilities, develop our workforce and improve business growth and strategic collaboration. The alliance members will work together collectively for the outcomes committed to in their business plan. This is how the Built Environment sector works on projects and comes together to make transformations happen.

In this way, the value chain approach will help alliance members forge long-term collaboration, reap mutual benefits and build capabilities through knowledge sharing and transfer. This will help pave the way for the alliances to take on larger or more complex projects or develop niche strengths in the future.

We will roll out the GTS with a few alliances first, and learn and improve the scheme along the way. Over time, the GTS should catalyse transformations throughout the Built Environment eco-system, so that the sector can progress together, including our sub-contractors further down the value chain. With enhanced capabilities and a stronger track record, Singapore firms will also be better placed to compete in construction tenders both here and abroad. More details will be announced later this year.

Besides the Growth and Transformation Scheme, we will also enhance our other broad-based incentives to help firms accelerate their transformation, such as through the Construction Productivity and Capability Fund (CPCF).

Next, in tandem, we will strengthen our regulations, to spur greater productivity improvements.

We will review our foreign manpower levers in the construction industry. As announced at MND’s COS in 2019, we intend to remove the Man-Year-Entitlement (MYE) framework in the near future and replace it with a system that incentivises more productive off-site work. We are also studying the reduction of the construction Dependency Ratio Ceiling (DRC), to support more manpower-lean construction.

We are aware that changes in these regulations will impact the construction industry and are especially mindful of the current economic climate. We will continue to consult our industry partners before making any major moves.

We will also be enhancing our Buildability Framework to raise productivity standards and make Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DfMA) the default method for large projects.

In the short term, these moves may cause some pain, as many industry players accept. But as we have learnt from COVID-19, these structural changes are necessary, so that we can build greater resilience in our industry.

Third, we will be investing more resources to support our local industry’s research and innovation efforts. By developing and deploying transformative technologies, we can spur industry growth and improve our firms’ competitiveness.

Beyond productivity and resilience, we also want our Built Environment sector to be even more green and sustainable, in line with the Green Plan, and we talked about it earlier during the segment on the Green Plan. My colleague Minister of State Tan Kiat How will elaborate on our plans to transform the Built Environment sector later in greater detail.

Sir, I have talked about the Built Environment transformation. Now let me move on to another key priority for us, which is public housing.

Mr Leong Mun Wai expressed concern about possible shortages in housing supply. Let me assure Members that we closely monitor housing demand and calibrate supply accordingly, to meet Singaporeans’ housing needs.

For public housing, HDB adopts a comprehensive approach in planning new flat supply, taking into account demographic and socio-economic trends, prevailing market conditions and the supply of resale flats on the open market.

But our approach to public housing goes beyond matching supply to demand and putting a physical roof over people’s heads. Public housing is also an integral part of the social fabric that keeps our nation together. It serves important social objectives that are fundamental to the idea of Singapore. Unlike almost anywhere else in the world, here in Singapore, we provide public housing for the vast majority of our people. When we live next door to diverse neighbours along the same corridor or in the same estate, we share common experiences and we grow a sense of identity and community. So, we must do our best to keep public housing diverse and inclusive, to nurture and strengthen this community spirit.

Take the Ethnic Integration Policy, or EIP, for example. It is a unique policy and an intrusive one, almost impossible to replicate elsewhere. But as Mr Saktiandi Supaat had emphasised, the EIP remains important to promote social integration, by ensuring a balanced racial mix in our HDB blocks and neighbourhoods. So, it is an important strategy, but it works together with other community-building strategies to ensure that our multi-culturalism is never taken for granted.

At the same time, some flat owners may find it more challenging to sell their flats when the EIP limits are met. Members have referred cases to us from time to time. We must take care to ensure that they do not bear a disproportionate share of the EIP’s impact. Many of these owners are eventually able to sell their flats to buyers from eligible ethnic groups. But for those who continue to face difficulties, HDB can give them more time to sell their flat, or exercise flexibility on the EIP in truly extenuating circumstances. We will look at appeals closely on a case-by-case basis and continue to monitor the situation carefully.

I will now talk about how we will keep public housing inclusive, by keeping flats affordable and meeting the diverse needs of Singaporeans. I will then touch on our efforts to streamline processes for home seekers.

One important way we keep HDB estates inclusive is by keeping flats affordable, so that Singaporeans of different income levels can access home ownership and live in the same neighbourhoods. That is why we sell new HDB flats at subsidised prices and provide generous grants for first-timers buying both new and resale flats.

These subsidies keep flats affordable for most buyers. For example, for most of the first-timer buyers in the non-mature estates, their monthly mortgage payment does not exceed one-quarter of their income. So, they can pay their monthly instalments mostly through their CPF contributions, with very little or even no cash outlay.

Moving forward, as we have said, we will also build public housing in very prime locations, like the city centre and the Greater Southern Waterfront. Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin had asked about these plans.

Left solely to the private market, these prime areas would likely be used for exclusive, high-end housing developments that only the rich can afford, given their attractive locations and attributes. We see this in many other cities, from New York to Hong Kong and many others, where housing is much more expensive in certain choice neighbourhoods compared to others, and average families either have to pay very high rents to live in these prime locations, or may need to move further out of the city or to less desirable parts of the inner city to buy an affordable home.

There are very powerful social and economic forces at work, that drive stratification and gentrification of cities, that can divide communities. But we are determined to do our best to resist them, so that our society does not become fragmented over time. We therefore need bold and decisive action to ensure that these prime areas of Singapore continue to reflect the openness and diversity of our society and allow Singaporeans from diverse backgrounds to live together and interact.

That is why, even in these prime locations, we will strive to include public rental housing, so that lower income households can live in these estates too and be served by the facilities and services that they require.

We will also design and introduce a whole new housing model to keep new HDB flats that we will build in these prime areas affordable for young families and Singaporeans of different backgrounds. This will not be easy, as there are many factors to consider.

For example, to keep flats in these prime areas affordable, our new housing model will have to provide additional subsidies, on top of the generous subsidies that we already provide for BTO flats today. So, not just the general subsidies that everyone else gets, but for people who are buying these flats in these very prime locations, to keep it affordable, we have to put additional subsidies.

These additional subsidies also cause difficulties, because they could lead to more capital gains for owners when they sell their flats on the open market, compared to other HDB flat owners. Hence, for fairness, we may need a way to recover some of the extra subsidies provided for flats in very prime locations.

We must also ensure that these future estates remain affordable and inclusive over time and not just at the point when HDB sells to the first buyer. Otherwise, they may transact at extremely high prices in the resale market and only the better-off can buy them over time. In short, as a social policy, we have to act against the instinct of the market.

Many ideas that have surfaced during our engagements, and there have been lots of commentaries in the media and in professional groups. For example, imposing a longer minimum occupation period, or restrictions on renting out these flats, or ringfencing the pool of subsequent buyers. We also received many other very good suggestions from experts, commentators, researchers, professionals, sociologists, members of the public and so on, and we welcome people to continue sending in these ideas.

But even the authors themselves recognise that these ideas may create complexities too – for instance, they may exacerbate the burden on homeowners who may run into unforeseen circumstances or financial difficulties. And some acknowledge there may be no certainty that some of the measures that are suggested would actually be able to maintain affordability over time.

So, it is a balancing act, and we are still carefully studying the possibilities. We will continue to engage Singaporeans to find the right balance, before announcing more details.

But what I want to stress is that at the heart of our approach is our deep conviction: that our public housing estates must remain inclusive and accessible to Singaporeans. Again, this is a unique approach, that very few other cities would be willing to attempt to do. But we are pursuing it, despite the challenges, because we firmly believe that it is right and necessary, to keep Singapore an open and egalitarian society.

Next, we also keep public housing inclusive by meeting the diverse housing needs of different groups of Singaporeans. In many cases, this goes beyond just providing a form of shelter. As I said, public housing serves important social objectives. It is also about connecting residents to a wider community – building bonds among them, promoting well-being, building identity.

For example, one group that we take special care of are seniors. Last month, together with our colleagues from MOH, we launched the first pilot for the Community Care Apartments in Bukit Batok. MND, HDB and MOH worked closely to design this new typology, to meet not just the housing needs or shelter needs, but also the social and care needs of seniors, and help them to foster social bonds as well. Public feedback on this pilot has been very encouraging, and my colleague, Minister of State Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, will provide a fuller update later.

Another group that we look after is our lower income households in public rental flats. Again, this is not just about basic shelter. We want to help them overcome the various complex challenges they face and uplift their lives.

For instance, we have a dedicated Home ownership Support Team in HDB to support public rental households who aspire to home ownership. And through ComLink, government agencies and community partners work together to provide customised and coordinated support to public rental families with children, beyond just tackling their housing needs. Again, shelter, or housing, with social support. MSF will elaborate more about this during its COS.

In the same spirit, we are always looking for ways to better support our public rental households, including single tenants who find it difficult to find a flatmate or to live with one, and larger families with children. Minister of State Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim will share more details about our initiatives for these groups.

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One more group that we take care of is the young couples looking to start their families.

Mr Cheng Hsing Yao suggested a BTR, not BTO, Build to Rent model. While Mr Leong Mun Wai suggested letting millennials rent, not buy.

We are always open to studying different housing typologies, but for now our focus is to help Singaporeans achieve their aspirations of home ownership. Home ownership gives families a more stable long-term housing arrangement and also, a concrete stake in Singapore’s progress.

That is why, as I mentioned, we offer generous grants to help young families afford their first flats. We also provide other assistance, such as by giving them more ballot chances and setting aside more flats for them in HDB’s sales exercises.

After booking a new flat, most families waiting for their flat to be completed continue staying with their families, while some choose to rent on the open market. HDB also has the Provisional Parenthood Housing Scheme, or PPHS, as Mr Louis Chua pointed out, for those who may need an alternative.

HDB has been working to add more PPHS flats in recent years and we are studying how we can provide more options for such families.

We will continue to keep public housing inclusive for other groups as well, such as persons with disabilities or special needs, as Miss Cheryl Chan and Ms Denise Phua frequently in this House have highlighted.

My colleague Senior Minister of State Sim Ann will share more about our efforts to foster an even stronger sense of community in our HDB estates, by involving Singaporeans in building a caring and vibrant neighbourhood.

Let me turn to how we are harnessing digital technology to make the home buying process more convenient for flat buyers. I think this last year we have achieved in one year a significant acceleration in the digitalisation of many aspects – of the economy, of work and of society, and so, too, we have to keep up.

We have made improvements over the last few years. For instance, we introduced the HDB Resale Portal in 2018, the open booking of flats in 2019 and the HDB Flat Portal in January this year.

Through our engagements with Singaporeans and with industry, we have planned some new initiatives this year.

First, we will combine HDB’s eligibility assessments for flats, for loans, and for grants into a single service touchpoint. Currently, buyers’ eligibility for these three components is assessed separately. We will streamline these eligibility checks into one online application, made through the HDB Flat Portal. Where possible and with the applicants’ permission, HDB will then link up with other Government agencies backend, to retrieve the details needed for its assessments. This reduces the need for applicants to manually enter their particulars or submit supporting documents repeatedly.

The outcomes will be sent to applicants in a single document: the HDB Flat Eligibility letter or HFE letter. This HFE letter will notify applicants of their eligibility to buy a new or resale flat, and how much of an HDB housing loan and CPF housing grants they can qualify for. This provides upfront clarity and holistic information on their housing and financing options, to facilitate their housing choices.

Second, we will introduce a new digital platform in the HDB Flat Portal, to guide new flat buyers throughout their flat buying journey, from flat application to key collection. The platform will consolidate all relevant information and present it to buyers at the appropriate milestones. Because sometimes buying a first flat can be quite daunting – lots of processes, information is here and there. We want to align it together, guide them in a family-centric, client-centric way through the process and enable them to book the necessary appointments seamlessly.

Third, we will extend the loan-listing service in the HDB Flat Portal and enable home seekers to apply for housing loans from participating financial institutions, directly through the portal, instead of having to do so separately.

HDB will provide more details on these initiatives later this year.

Finally, let me touch on yet another important priority for us: transforming Singapore into a City in Nature, as part of the Green Plan. Greening our city has always been a part of Singapore’s DNA, which we must continue to steward for generations to come. This will also help to mitigate the effects of climate change and urbanisation, and improve the living environment for all Singaporeans.

Since we announced our City in Nature vision and goal at COS last year, we have made progress on various initiatives. For example, as part of our OneMillionTrees movement, we have already planted around 160,000 trees so far. We also launched the new Sungei Buloh Nature Park Network in August last year. And we announced plans to rewild selected landscapes across our island, to support ecological connectivity.

At the Joint Segment on the Green Plan, I set out some of our targets.

These include adding another 1,000 hectares of green spaces over the next 10 to 15 years, and expanding our Park Connector Network or PCN so that by 2030, every household will be within a 10-minute walk from a park.

With your permission, Sir, may I display some slides on the LCD screen?

The Chairman: Yes.

Mr Desmond Lee: Thank you. Today, we have a Coast-to-Coast trail that cuts across central Singapore.

We are also developing the Round Island Route, the Rail Corridor, and the Bukit Timah-Rochor Green Corridor. We will establish and curate more of these recreational routes, so that Singaporeans have more opportunities to enjoy nature and the outdoors. In fact, because of COVID-19, many Singaporeans are now exploring Singapore like never before and it is a wonderful thing.

We will create two more corridors running from North to South, just like the Rail Corridor. The 18-km Eastern Corridor will link East Coast to Pasir Ris via Bedok Reservoir and the 34-km Central Corridor will link Woodlands in the North to the city centre.

We will also create two new Coast-to-Coast trails running from East to West. In the North, we will have a 25-km Coast-to-Coast Northern Trail, running from Khatib Bongsu to Sungei Buloh. In the South, we will develop a 62-km Coast-to-Coast Southern Trail from Changi Beach to Tuas via Singapore Botanic Gardens. So, in time to come, as the boy band Westlife put it, you can go from "Coast to Coast" and find the trail you love the most!

At the same time, we will enhance our park connector infrastructure along Phase 1 of the Round Island Route, between Rower’s Bay and Gardens by the Bay, to make it more seamless and accessible.

Mr Dennis Tan asked how we can make our park connectors safer for users. NParks is focusing on enhancing the safety of park connectors with high usage and more frequent feedback on user conflicts. Enhancement works include segregating wider park connectors into footpaths and cycling paths, updating markings and signage for better clarity, and implementing more lighting, speed regulating strips and advisory signs.

Notwithstanding this, there will still be a need for users to share paths, for example where space does not allow for segregation. NParks conducts regular outreach efforts to raise awareness on park connector etiquette, such as keeping left on shared paths and giving way to others. At the same time, NParks and LTA also conduct joint enforcement against errant park connector users, such as Personal Mobility Device users who exceed the speed limits or ride recklessly. NParks will continue to work with LTA and the community to promote responsible use of our park connectors.

Overall, Singaporeans can look forward to 500 km of park connectors by 2030. These will allow for immersive experiences for all sorts of visitors – from families to hikers and cyclists. At the same time, they will add to our island’s ecological connectivity and resilience.

We have committed over $315 million to these City in Nature efforts over the next few years. This work will help make Singapore greener, more liveable and more sustainable, and we invite all Singaporeans to join us on this journey.

Building a more resilient Built Environment sector, keeping public housing inclusive and transforming Singapore into a City in Nature – together with the presentations that my colleagues will provide later, these are some of MND’s key priorities in the years ahead and beyond.

These are ambitious, meaningful projects, but the Government cannot push them through alone. We need all Singaporeans to take part – individuals, businesses and community organisations.

As we continue to build Singapore together, we will need to anticipate long-term social and economic trends and plan for them, while being flexible to adapt to near-term changes. Given our limited land and many pressing needs, including new ones that surface on the horizon, we will also need to make difficult trade-offs across different priorities. These are conversations that we need everyone to contribute to, with your different passions and expertise. My colleague Minister Indranee Rajah who will speak next will explain how we will involve Singaporeans in this very important but very exciting journey.

As the COVID-19 pandemic has shown, we are far stronger when we work as one. I am confident that we can build a more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable Singapore, together. [Applause.]

The Chairman: Minister Indranee.

The Second Minister for National Development (Ms Indranee Rajah): Mr Chairman, let me speak today about re-imagining Singapore together.

We will start with when we were a backwater becoming a global city. Singapore is one of the most liveable cities in the world today, ranking first in Asia under Mercer’s annual Quality of Living Survey, and ahead of cities like London and New York.

Yet, our Pioneers would recall the squatter settlements by the polluted Singapore River and remember that we were once a jumble of urban development and older areas. We have come a long way since then.

Singapore’s remarkable transformation is not to be taken for granted. It is the fruit of careful and far-sighted urban planning and design.

We are now planning for our future city. Allow me to outline MND’s plans which we will be sharing with the public so that we can reimagine Singapore together.

To guide future development, MND and URA have embarked on a review of our long-term land use plans. This exercise is known as the Long-Term Planning Review or the LTPR. This is crucial given our small land area of just over 728 square kilometers, which is less than 0.1% of the world’s largest country, Russia.

Our land is limited yet we have many needs and hopes for the future. We want housing options, with amenities at our doorsteps and green spaces to enjoy. We want a thriving city centre. We also need to keep Singapore safe and sustainable.

Long-term planning is key to achieving these objectives and providing a high quality living environment for Singaporeans.

The LTPR is not a new exercise. The first such plan, formerly known as the “Concept Plan”, was developed 50 years ago in 1971, and laid the foundation for our city's structure. We review our long-term plans regularly. The last major review was conducted in 2011. With changing needs and emerging trends, it is timely to refresh these plans.

My colleagues at URA and MND face very different circumstances from our pioneer city planners today. For a start, as more of Singapore’s land is built up, we must plan not only for development, but also for re-development.

Mr Henry Kwek had suggested considering carbon emissions when deciding if we should develop on greenfield or brownfield sites. The spirit of this proposal is line with our national push towards sustainability.

Yet, there is a tension between this and other considerations that guide our land use plans, including demographic, socio-economic and technological trends. We also have to balance demands across a variety of needs, such as housing, green spaces, schools and so on.

As Minister Desmond Lee emphasised, we do our best to optimise our land use, and retain green spaces with high ecological value. Any decision to develop greenfield sites is taken only after considering trade-offs and alternatives. We proceed with care, to minimise the environmental impact.

Overall, taking a long-term approach towards land use planning is important for sustainable development in Singapore. This will also preserve options for our future generations.

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The world that we live in is increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. Hence, our approach to long-term planning will place a greater focus on optionality and flexibility.

As our circumstances change, we must plan accordingly. This includes planning for an ageing population and the evolving mindsets of Singaporeans on matters such as lifestyles, work, family, nature and heritage.

For instance, Mr Cheng Hsing Yao asked if we will review our land planning strategies to offer more diverse housing modalities, given our ageing population and decreasing household sizes. Indeed, MND, URA and HDB will continue to monitor societal trends, engage industry stakeholders and adjust land use policies to meet our housing needs.

Mr Chong Kee Hiong had also suggested to allow more market flexibility in our zoning policies. We will continue to review how our land-use policies can keep Singapore resilient and responsive to change and consult stakeholders and businesses in this process.

Prof Hoon Hian Teck and Mr Cheng Hsing Yao also asked if COVID-19 will change our land-use plans and designs.

Certainly, it will. We recognise that it has impacted the way we live, work and play. It has also accelerated trends. Today, many of us order food and attend meetings with a click of a button, much more so than before COVID-19 hit us last year. At the national level, COVID-19 has underlined the need for resilience of resources, including food, medical supplies and construction materials.

Last year, in the Emerging Stronger Conversations, a group of Singaporeans and I discussed how to rethink the design of HDB living in light of the pandemic. Many suggested more community work and study spaces, for those in need of a conducive environment for remote working.

Today, residents with telecommuting needs can use HDB's "Community Living Rooms" within void decks in new developments, or shared spaces in some of our Community Clubs.

Those in need of dedicated rooms for videoconferencing can tap on commercial co-working spaces in some of our heartland malls.

We will study ways to inject community co-working spaces in our neighbourhoods and explore how to make these accessible for vulnerable groups, as suggested by Miss Cheryl Chan. We will also engage private operators and examine how we can plan for and design our neighbourhoods to support remote working, should the trend persist.

COVID-19 also raised questions on how much office and retail space we need, considering the shift towards e-commerce and telecommuting.

The disconcerting quiet of the CBD during circuit breaker sharpened the importance of planning for more mixed-use in our city centre.

The CBD Incentive Scheme and Strategic Development Incentive, or SDI scheme, which Mr Louis Chua and Mr Henry Kwek asked about, are well-placed to facilitate this shift.

Since 2019, we have offered incentives to encourage the conversion of older office buildings in the CBD into mixed-used developments. These will have offerings, such as hotels, residences, gyms, grocery stores, eateries and so on.

The SDI similarly incentivises building owners to come together to comprehensively redevelop and transform precincts in strategic areas across Singapore.

Mr Louis Chua asked about these proposals. URA has received several proposals for both these schemes – nine outline applications under the CDB Incentive scheme of which six have been given in-principle approval. Three outline applications were given in-principle approval under the SDI scheme. Mr Chua also asked if the scheme can be expanded to more areas. The SDI already applies across Singapore.

URA is actively working with building owners to realise their plans. This will introduce a good mix of uses and amenities in our city, making it an attractive destination to live, work and play. We will continue to monitor the trends accelerated by COVID-19 and factor these insights into our plans.

Members have also asked if the public and industry will be consulted on our long-term plans. The answer is yes. We believe that everyone has a stake in building the Singapore that our children and grandchildren will live in. The LTPR will gather the public, private and people sectors, all of whom bring valuable perspectives and expertise to the table.

Throughout the rest of the year, URA will tap on various platforms to engage Singaporeans deeply and widely. We will use a range of modalities to do so, including polls, workshops and focus group discussions, both in-person and online.

The engagement will kick off in April, with polls to get a pulse of what Singaporeans want for our future city and why they want it. Subsequently, we will gather input on the long-term land-use strategies and plans that can help us achieve these outcomes.

Given our limited land, difficult conversations on weighing the potential trade-offs and coming to the right balance on land-use decisions will come up.

We will not shy away from these conversations. We welcome a diversity of views. We also look forward to ideas on how to shape our major long-term strategic redevelopment areas. These include the relocation of the Paya Lebar Airbase and the redevelopment of the Greater Southern Waterfront after the ports move to Tuas.

At URA's "Runway for your Imagination" competition last year, we received many creative proposals on how to repurpose the former Paya Lebar Airport. A winning entry envisioned housing an agricultural park at the former runway, supplying fresh produce for the community. Green corridors would run through the town, allowing residents to enjoy nature at their doorstep. This was a refreshing vision of a residential town that responded to the global challenges of food resiliency and ecological sustainability.

Such insights from academia, professional bodies and the public can help us formulate better long-term plans and strategies for Singapore.

As we gather feedback, debate through options and listen to one other in the coming months, I am confident that we will build consensus on the way forward. I invite all Singaporeans to spread the word and join us in this process.

As we reimagine Singapore, we also want to partner Singaporeans in action. I am heartened by the energy of the Alliances for Actions, or AfAs, launched by the Emerging Stronger Taskforce last year, which some colleagues have already spoken on. These collaborations allow industry and community to partner the Government to ideate and implement solutions together.

To accelerate digitalisation efforts in the Built Environment sector, we formed the Digitalising Built Environment AfA in June last year. The AfA drives the adoption of digital platforms based on industry-wide Common Data Environment Data Standards. Close to 300 firms have stepped forward. We hope that more will embrace the collaborative potential of digitalisation across the Built Environment value chain.

We will also expand our partnership platforms.

This includes the pilot Business Improvement District or BID programme, in which businesses and stakeholders work with URA to develop and implement business plans that will enhance the vibrancy of our neighbourhoods. In the thick of the pandemic last year, the Tanjong Pagar stakeholders rallied together to roll out a joint F&B delivery promotion to boost business amid restrictions.

We are also thankful for our Friends of the Parks communities, where Singaporeans from all walks of life have stepped forward to promote the active and responsible use of our green spaces. We have started to involve our communities in the conceptualisation, design and development of five of our upcoming parks, including Pasir Panjang Park which will open this year. We will continue to work with you to create better parks for everyone to enjoy.

Next, building a City of Tomorrow through innovation and technology. Our physical resources may be limited, but innovation and technology offer opportunities to overcome this.

Minister Desmond Lee had earlier spoken about MND's Cities of Tomorrow R&D programme. These research efforts will allow us to tap on innovations in science and technology to transform urban living in Singapore.

One of these is the creation of "noise-cancelling windows". We are all familiar with noise feedback from residents living near roads and expressways. One solution is to create thicker windows to block the noise, but keeping windows closed may lose us the benefit of natural ventilation. The NTU team working on this project will be using noise to cancel out noise. To do so, their windows will generate sounds of a similar amplitude but of opposite waves – a simple law of physics I am told!

There are many more of such prototypes in the works – a testament to the ingenuity of our fellow Singaporeans.

We will scale up prototypes that prove to be effective. For example, in Punggol Northshore, HDB's very first "smart and sustainable district", we will get a glimpse of the neighbourhoods of the future. Think sensor-controlled smart lighting in common areas, smart sockets and a smart distribution board in homes to help residents monitor energy consumption. Residents will also enjoy a seamless parking experience with barrier-free entry and exit.

These cutting-edge urban solutions will allow for a comfortable living environment even as we intensify our land use and establish Singapore as a highly liveable city.

Let me conclude by drawing us back to why we plan for the long term and why we are inviting everyone along on this journey.

At the heart of our plans are our people. The landscapes and buildings we create are to support the individual and collective dreams of Singaporeans, both present and future.

The exciting thing about infrastructure and land use planning is that our plans will come to fruition in very tangible ways.

The historic districts of Chinatown, Kampong Glam and the Singapore River are legacies of the 1822 Jackson Plan. The 1971 Concept Plan laid the blueprint for Changi Airport and our system of expressways and MRT lines which we enjoy today. The 1991 Concept Plan birthed the idea of connecting parks, green spaces and waterways through a network.

So, what imprint would this edition of the Long-Term Planning Review leave behind? As we look to the transformation of Singapore within a generation, may it give us confidence that we have the ability, the will and the imagination to plan and build our future city together.

The Chairman: Senior Minister of State Sim Ann.

The Senior Minister of State for National Development (Ms Sim Ann): Mr Chairman, COVID-19 has changed the way we live. We now spend more time in our homes and are more keenly aware of the state of our living environment and neighbourhood.

All of us want to live in a well-maintained estate with convenient access to services and enjoy good, friendly relations with our neighbours. The Municipal Services Office, or MSO sees opportunities to help more Singaporeans achieve this vision.

In its first phase, MSO has worked closely with 10 agencies and now 17 Town Councils to improve our feedback response time and resolve complex issues more effectively. The one-stop OneService community app has also grown to over 340,000 users, up from less than 200,000 in 2019.

In its next phase, MSO will work with these partners to deliver high-quality, resident-centric services, pre-empt issues where possible and partner like-minded residents to build a better neighbourhood together.

6.00 pm

Miss Cheryl Chan asked about the impact of COVID-19 on the delivery of municipal services and what MSO would do to address these challenges. Indeed, at the height of circuit breaker, many municipal tasks had to be de-prioritised due to the lack of available manpower. As we emerge stronger from these disruptions, we need to move away from a heavy reliance on manpower.

One way to do that, as rightly pointed out by Ms Tin Pei Ling, is to leverage technology for predictive maintenance work. MSO and our partners are doubling down on such efforts, to spot issues – and resolve them – before they become a problem for residents.

For instance, HDB is working with Town Councils to progressively install the Smart Lighting System in all estates, which monitors common area lighting points in real time, and automatically adjusts them in response to human motion. This, like other predictive capabilities undertaken by NParks in the management of greenery and parks, enables us to better predict potential faults, and undertake pre-emptive rectifications. We look forward to the trial outcomes, and to supporting their scale-up.

We also need to address structural barriers that prevent us from providing better services. One such barrier is the delivery of municipal services along agency lines. That is why we are piloting a new model of municipal service delivery in Tampines town later this year. This model integrates municipal services that are already outsourced by Government agencies today around residents’ needs at the township level, rather than by agency and land boundaries. This has several benefits.

First, we can more swiftly resolve municipal issues within the same town, such as connectivity-related infrastructure. Second, we can provide services more efficiently, by streamlining operational processes and training workers to be multi-skilled, so that they can be flexibly deployed across job functions. For example, workers inspecting for municipal infrastructure defects could also be trained to spot pest issues. Over time, more higher-skilled municipal jobs will be created for locals. Finally, by integrating multiple services, there will be economies of scale for service providers, which incentivises them to invest in better operations-technology capabilities, to deliver improved services at lower cost. This integration of services, alongside our harnessing of tech and data insights, will lead to better maintained neighbourhoods for our residents.

Nonetheless, residents will still encounter some issues. Miss Cheryl Chan asked how MSO was using technology to make providing feedback easier and more inclusive, and Mr Yip Hon Weng asked on the progress of the OneService Chatbot. To that, let me share two updates.

First, we piloted the OneService Lite QR code reporting in Jurong-Clementi and Aljunied-Hougang Town Councils last year, so that residents can report issues without downloading an app. This year, we will expand it to more estates in Holland-Bukit Panjang and Sembawang Town Councils. In addition, in our trial in Yuhua last year, some seniors shared that QR codes were more convenient than phone calls, as they did not need to wait to speak to the phone operator. They asked if feedback reporting could be done in vernacular languages, which they are more familiar with. We have taken in the feedback and will be starting a trial for OneService Lite reporting in Chinese, and later in Malay and Tamil as well.

Second, we have made progress in developing the OneService chatbot. Residents can look forward to reporting cases on-the-go, via WhatsApp and Telegram in the second half of this year. The chatbot is supported by artificial intelligence, which currently predicts with 80% accuracy, the case type and agency-in-charge based on residents' submitted feedback. This is expected to improve as public trials continues. This conversational reporting format complements the OneService App’s more structured reporting format.

Miss Cheryl Chan commented on closing the loop on municipal feedback. Some complex cases require extensive investigation or repair works, and we agree that cases should not be marked as “closed” when agencies have undertaken to handle them but have not completed their actions. In the coming month, we will implement changes to the interface to provide residents a clearer understanding on the status of actions undertaken by agencies. Together, providing feedback will be even more convenient, inclusive, and integrated with our everyday lives.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan, Ms Nadia Samdin and Mr Baey Yam Keng asked about MSO’s effort to encourage greater neighbourliness, so that residents can live harmoniously alongside each other. In October last year, MSO hosted an Emerging Stronger Conversation focusing on this exact topic. Many participants hoped for neighbourhoods where neighbours know and talk to each other, are considerate and tolerant, and are able to work issues out amongst themselves, rather than just complain to the authorities. In the spirit of SG Together, we want to support residents in translating these and other worthy goals into action.

First, we will enhance the OneService app so that residents can look out for one another, especially those in need.

In partnership with MSF and the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC), we will introduce a new “Help Neighbour” feature in the second half of this year, which residents can use to alert agencies to persons in need of assistance. This is especially important during the pandemic, where residents may find themselves having fewer interactions with their usual social networks.

In addition, residents can soon alert their neighbours in the same block to upcoming renovations with the “Happenings” feature, so that affected neighbours can plan around such inconveniences and find alternative spots to rest and work.

We have also used the What Say You? residents survey tool to support Town Councils in polling residents on neighbourhood renewal programmes and block paintings. We look forward to collaborating with Mr Baey Yam Keng Tampines Town Council team in using this tool to facilitate community decision making for the residents.

Second, we will provide support and funds for residents to develop community solutions for issues within their neighbourhoods. We are doing this via the Love Our ‘Hood Initiative, with the support of MCCY and the Singapore Kindness Movement. Over 30 passionate participants in Mountbatten spent the last 2 months tapping on their ground knowledge to develop initiatives to tackle issues such as animal feeding and neighbour noise. Residents in Bukit Gombak and Pioneer can also look forward to participating in Love Our ‘Hood initiatives at their neighbourhoods later this year.

We will also sustain our support of the community through the now-formalised OneService Kakis Network, which comprises over 2,000 members of public and stakeholders we have worked with over the years, and bring these like-minded citizens together to spark off ideas with one another.

Finally, as Miss Cheryl Chan highlighted, one of our priorities is to keep our HDB estates both lively and liveable, and to involve residents in this process.

For our upcoming estates, HDB launched the new Designing for Life roadmap last year. This sets out how HDB will plan and design both new and existing areas to provide a high-quality living environment that can better support residents’ overall health and well-being.

As for our existing estates, we have many upgrading programmes to keep them in good condition, including the Home Improvement Programme at the block-level, the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme at the neighbourhood-level, and the Remaking Our Heartland Programme at the town-level.

Members raised queries on some of our block-level works. For example, Mr Lim Biow Chuan had concerns about spalling concrete in older blocks. As HDB flats age, there will be some natural wear and tear. When such cases occur, HDB can help to make rectifications, and share half of the repair costs through the Goodwill Repair Assistance Scheme.

We have also announced that all HDB blocks will receive a second round of subsidised upgrading under HIP II when they reach 60 to 70 years old. More details on HIP II will be shared closer to its commencement.

Mr Dennis Tan asked about the Lift Upgrading Programme, or LUP. Over the years, we have provided direct lift access for the vast majority of HDB blocks, including by exercising flexibility for some blocks above the cost cap of $30,000 per household. However, for blocks where the costs are still too high, it would not be prudent to offer the LUP. In some cases, the LUP cost might be almost the same as that of a new flat. Therefore, while we continue exploring new technical methods to bring down LUP costs, we have also introduced the Lift access Housing Grant (LHG), which helps residents with urgent mobility or medical needs to move to another flat with direct lift access.

Mr Faisal Manap suggested a national programme for façade repairs. The external walls of HDB blocks are common property under Town Councils’ management. There are currently no plans for a new programme for façade repairs, as such issues can be addressed through regular maintenance by the Town Councils. To ensure that building façades are regularly inspected and promptly repaired, BCA has also introduced the Periodic Façade Inspection regime. Where repairs are required for HDB building facades, the Government will assist Town Councils with 50% of the costs.

Beyond these block-level works, at the wider neighbourhood- and town-level, we will continue to involve residents in revitalising our common spaces, to keep them vibrant and to foster a stronger sense of community.

For instance, residents can help shape the rejuvenation of their towns through the Remaking Our Heartland programme, or ROH. For the latest batch of ROH towns in Ang Mo Kio, Bukit Merah, Choa Chu Kang, and Queenstown, HDB gathered feedback through an online survey, and engaged more than 300 residents and Grassroot Leaders through Zoom focus group discussions. HDB will now study residents’ suggestions, and work with relevant agencies on the preliminary proposals. We will then engage residents again to further develop the proposals. We will continue to review the design and implementation of our upgrading schemes to meet residents’ evolving needs.

Our rejuvenation efforts extend to our neighbourhood commercial spaces as well. Associate Professor Jamus Lim suggested converting the top floor of HDB’s multi-storey carparks to commercial use. These may not be very suitable for commercial facilities, as retailers usually prefer locations with good pedestrian flow and visibility. Instead, the top decks of such carparks are typically landscaped and provided with recreational facilities like playgrounds, exercise areas, and community gardens. Some can even be converted into urban farms. Such landscaping also helps to reduce the urban heat island effect. Nonetheless, HDB makes sure to include enough commercial spaces in its estates. Most HDB residents can access commercial facilities within 400 metres of their homes.

HDB has also been working closely with heartland shops in their revitalisation and digitalisation efforts, which have become even more important amid the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, HDB launched two new mobile apps, RetailerLink and ShopperLink to enable HDB retailers to connect with shoppers online. RetailerLink helps HDB retailers manage customer engagement and promotions, and analyse sales data; while ShopperLink allows shoppers to browse and purchase products from heartland shops, attend their events, and even chat with the shop staff.

Together with MTI and MCI, we are also improving the Revitalisation of Shops framework to facilitate upgrading for heartland shops. HDB will continue to partner our heartland shops in their transformation journey. Through these various platforms and initiatives, residents can look forward to more opportunities to contribute ideas and efforts, as we work together to build a more caring and vibrant neighbourhood. Chairman, before I conclude, please allow me to say a few words in Mandarin.

(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] The Municipal Services Office (MSO) will work with agencies, Town Councils and residents to build a better living environment together in the following ways.

First, we will leverage technology for predictive maintenance work to spot issues and resolve them before they become a problem for residents. We will also pilot a new model of municipal service delivery in Tampines town later this year, one that would integrate services around residents' needs at the township level, rather than by agency and land boundaries. This will enable us to resolve the municipal issues more swiftly and effectively.

Second, we will make feedback provision more convenient. Last year, we piloted the OneService Lite QR code reporting in Jurong-Clementi and Aljunied-Hougang Town Councils, so that residents can report issues simply by scanning a QR code.

This year, we will expand it to more estates in Holland-Bukit Panjang and Sembawang Town Councils. We will also be starting a trial for OneService Lite reporting in Chinese, which will bring convenience to residents who are more comfortable with Chinese.

We will also launch the OneService Chatbot in the second half of this year, which will guide residents to provide feedback via WhatsApp and Telegram.

Third, we will also introduce a new "Help Neighbour" feature in the second half of this year, which residents can use to alert agencies to persons in need of assistance.

We will also provide support and funds for residents to develop community solutions for issues within their neighbourhoods via the Love Our 'Hood Initiative.

In the past two months, over 30 passionate participants in Mountbatten have helped to develop initiatives to tackle issues such as animal feeding and neighbour noise.

Residents in Bukit Gombak and Pioneer can also look forward to participating in Love Our 'Hood Initiative later this year.

We will continue to work with HDB residents to rejuvenate our estates, through the Remaking Our Heartlands programme, and to revitalise our heartland shops through the Revitalisation of Shops framework. Let us build lively and vibrant neighbourhoods together.

6.15 pm

(In English): Back to English, Chairman.

COVID-19 may have changed the way we live. But it has also given us the opportunity – and renewed impetus – to build well-maintained, connected and caring neighbourhoods together.

The Chairman: Minister of State Assoc Prof Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim.

The Minister of State for National Development (Assoc Prof Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim): Mr Chairman, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected many Singaporeans, with the lower income and vulnerable among us especially hard-hit, for instance, in terms of jobs and income loss.

At the same time, the crisis has brought out the best in us. We saw so many individuals and groups stepping forward to help others. For example, groups of volunteers went out at night to befriend rough sleepers, distribute essentials and offer them shelter and assistance.

The Government has also implemented extensive support to help lower income households bounce back stronger from these challenging times, including through the COVID-19 Budget measures. Households living in 1- and 2-room HDB flats received an average of $3,400 per member from the COVID-19 Budget measures.

We also rolled out additional support for households living in public rental flats. About 47,000 such households benefited from three months of rent rebates from October to December 2020. Late payment charges have also been suspended from April 2020 to March 2021.

To Ms Carrie Tan’s suggestion on further rent waivers, I would like to assure her that the Government will continue providing targeted support to lower income households to cope with the impact of COVID-19, for example, via the Household Support Package announced during the Budget speech, as well as the COVID-19 Recovery Grant and Jobs Support Scheme.

Government agencies and community partners have also stepped up outreach to public rental households to offer assistance. HDB has sent out letters and SMSes to inform these households to approach HDB or Social Service Offices (SSOs) if they cannot afford their rent or need other financial assistance. HDB has existing guidelines to lower the rent for households who cannot afford their rent. In 2020, about 4,000 public rental households were assisted with lower rents, including those who experienced a fall in income.

We also continue to look for more ways to partner the community. I attended one of HDB’s Emerging Stronger Conversations, or ESC, on enhancing housing support for vulnerable communities. The participants shared many thoughtful suggestions, including suggestions to help large families and singles staying in rental flats. We are studying these suggestions, and welcome more ideas.

Let me now share some updates on our on-going efforts to better meet the housing needs of low-income and vulnerable families as well as seniors.

First, our efforts to support those staying in public rental flats. Many rental families I met have shared with me their hope to own a home and provide a better environment for their children.

It is also our hope for them to realise this aspiration, and we have various measures to support them. They can tap on generous grants for their flat purchase, such as the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant for First-Timer families and the Step-Up CPF Housing Grant for Second-Timer families. In addition, the Fresh Start Housing Scheme helps Second-Timer families with young children in public rental to own a home again.

Since June 2019, tenants who have made a downpayment for a new flat will not have their rent increased for the rest of their stay in rental housing. They can put the savings towards their upcoming new homes or other needs. About 350 rental households have benefited so far, with median rent savings of about $150 per month.

They can also get one-to-one guidance on home ownership from HDB’s Home ownership Support Team, or we call it HST, which was established in December 2019. In the past year, HST has assisted 654 rental households. Among them, 50 have booked flats, and 177 should be ready to apply for a flat in the next one to two years.

HDB will also work closely with MSF and other partners under Community Link, or ComLink, to provide coordinated support to our rental families. One family who has moved from their rental flat to a new flat with HST’s support is Mr Irman, his wife and their three children. They were staying in a 1-room flat in Bedok since 2005. The Family Service Centre referred the family to HST in September 2019. HST guided Mr Irman and his wife closely, from understanding their housing budget and options, and applying for the flat, to key collection and settling into their new home. The family moved into their new 3-room flat in Bedok in June 2020.

I would like to encourage all rental families that owning a home is achievable, with their individual effort complemented by the support from the community and Government. Many rental families have already moved on to home ownership. In the past five years, about 4,600 rental households have moved into their own homes. Another 2,000 are waiting for the flats that they have booked to be completed.

Mr Louis Chua asked about the supply of public rental flats. We currently have enough supply for households who need them. We will continue building a small number of new rental flats to replace older blocks that are redeveloped, and gradually renew our stock of rental flats.

Designing our HDB blocks and neighbourhoods to be inclusive, where Singaporeans regardless of background live together and share common spaces, continues to be an important part of how we will build a stronger, more caring and more cohesive society.

Therefore, we will integrate new rental flats that HDB builds with sold flats in the same BTO projects, including in prime areas. Where feasible, we will build them in the same blocks too. The first such mixed block is located at Marsiling Greenview, which was completed in June 2018. Feedback from residents living in both rental and sold flats has been largely positive.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan and Mr Chong Kee Hiong raised concerns about large families staying in public rental flats and asked if we can provide larger flats. This was also discussed at the ESC I attended. We understand these concerns.

Families with three or more persons living in a 1-room flat can approach HDB to transfer to a 2-room flat. Families that form two nuclei, such as families with children, parents and grandparents living together, can apply for another flat, and HDB will offer them a second rental flat in the same block where possible.

To better support large families staying in public rental flats, MND and HDB will also work with MSF under ComLink to offer 3-room rental flats to large families with children, on a case-by-case basis. At the moment, we have a very limited supply of such flats, so we will only be able to offer the flats to a small number of families, based on the families’ circumstances.

At the same time, all families with children living in public rental flats will receive holistic support under ComLink to enable them to achieve stability, self-reliance and social mobility. For example, SSOs and community partners will engage the families to understand their needs, and connect them to programmes and services, such as employment assistance and childcare services. As far as possible, we aim to uplift them so that they can eventually buy their own home. HDB’s HST is part of the ComLink network, to guide these families in budgeting and planning for home ownership.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan, Mr Chong Kee Hiong and Mr Louis Ng shared concerns about the Joint Singles Scheme, or JSS, for public rental. For example, some individuals face challenges in finding a flatmate to apply with, or in getting along with their flatmate. During the ESC, a few participants shared similar concerns. We understand their concerns and have been looking at ways to improve the JSS.

To provide more privacy, HDB has been building new 1-room rental flats with partitions, including some that have internal doors to separate the sleeping areas. There are currently 705 such rental flats with pre-installed partitions. For older 1-room rental flats, HDB will install partitions at the tenants’ request. Interested tenants can contact HDB. HDB has installed partitions in about 530 existing rental flats so far.

Most single tenants are prepared to share a flat with a flatmate. Flat sharing enables companionship and mutual support, which is especially important for older tenants. It also allows us to help as many who need a public rental flat as possible, within our limited resources. For those who have extenuating circumstances, such as medical conditions that make it unfeasible for them to share a flat, we are prepared to look into their requests to rent a flat alone.

To provide an additional option to singles who apply under the JSS, HDB will pilot a new model which will allow them to apply individually, without having to find a flatmate first. In this new model, we will set aside a few floors in a few rental blocks and appoint social service agencies to manage the flats, including the flat-sharing arrangements. The social service agencies will have better expertise to match singles of similar profiles, and to mediate disagreements that may arise. If necessary, they can also arrange for individuals to move to another flat. The rents in this new model will be largely similar to the JSS rents, and tenants will be subject to the same eligibility conditions. HDB is working towards rolling out this pilot later this year and we will share more details when ready.

We will continue to support the housing needs of other vulnerable groups, such as single parents and divorcees, who Ms Carrie Tan and Mr Louis Chua spoke about. Members who are aware of families or individuals who need assistance can refer them to HDB, and we will do our best to assist them, based on their circumstances. HDB has also been working closely with MSF, social service agencies, and community partners in the PEERS Network to assist rough sleepers and help them to move to more stable housing.

6.30 pm

We have also been expanding housing options for seniors. In December 2020, MND, HDB and MOH introduced the Community Care Apartments, or CCAs, a new assisted living typology that combines housing with care services and community living for seniors. I thank Members for their strong interest and strong support in this.

Mr Xie Yao Quan and Mr Henry Kwek Hian Chuan spoke about the CCAs and asked about our future plans. Let me briefly update on the first pilot project, Harmony Village at Bukit Batok, which was launched for sale in February 2021. We received a very positive response for these flats, with 706 applicants applying for 169 units. This encouraging response validates the consultative approach that agencies took on in developing the concept, from the design of the units and communal spaces, to the services to provide.

Seniors, care-givers and healthcare professionals provided valuable feedback during Focus Group Discussions we held in 2019. For example, we added design features, such as the sliding partition to the flat, based on feedback that seniors appreciated the open layout but might desire more privacy at times.

Given the positive feedback and strong interest, we are studying plans for a second pilot site. We will share more details when ready.

With the pilots, we will monitor how the flat design and care services promote the well-being of seniors, both physical and socio-emotional and support them to age in place. These pilots will help us to further improve the housing and care options for our seniors. We continue to welcome feedback from seniors, as well as their care-givers and family members.

Mr Chairman, let me now say a few words in Malay.

(In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the lives of many Singaporeans, especially the lower income and the vulnerable among us. I was heartened to see the resilience shown by these families in coping with the impact on their jobs, health, and family life. At the same time, our community spirit also became stronger. Many individuals and groups have stepped forward to help others in need.

The Government has also offered extensive support to help the lower income households. For example, HDB provided rent rebates and rent reductions for households living in public rental flats. If you know someone who needs further assistance, please ask them to approach HDB or the nearest Social Service Office (SSO).

To better support large families living in public rental flats, MND and HDB will work with Community Link (or ComLink), which is an MSF initiative, to offer 3-room rental flats to large families on a case-by-case basis.

At the moment, we have a very limited supply of such three-room flats. Hence, we will only be able to offer these flats to a small number of families. The selection will be done jointly by HDB and MSF, based on the families’ circumstances and suitability.

At the same time, all public rental flat families with small children will receive holistic support under ComLink to enable them to achieve stability, self-reliance and social mobility.

As far as possible, we aim to uplift them so that they can be self-reliant and eventually own their own home.

Many young people have shared with me their aspiration to own a home. Some already have a few children of their own, and they want to provide a better home environment for their families and children. Indeed, owning a home is a milestone that brings pride and joy for them.

We will continue supporting them to realise this aspiration, by providing various housing grants for first-time flat buyers.

Additionally, for families staying in public rental, the HDB’s Home ownership Support Team provides one-to-one guidance on how they can plan and work towards buying a flat.

For those who make a down payment for a new flat, HDB will not increase their rent for the rest of their stay in rental housing.

I would like to assure all young Singaporeans who are planning to or starting a family, that the dream of owning their own homes can be achieved, through their own efforts, and complemented by support from the Government.

(In English): Working together with citizens, the community and various partners, we remain committed to strengthen our support for vulnerable citizens, uplift lower income families and meet the housing needs of all Singaporeans.

The Chairman: Minister of State Tan Kiat How.

The Minister of State for National Development (Mr Tan Kiat How): Mr Chairman, I will now elaborate on the Ministry's plans on how we are transforming the construction industry to create more jobs and opportunities for our firms and our local workforce.

Mr Henry Kwek and Mr Xie Yao Quan spoke about the Construction Industry Transformation Map, or ITM. The ITM was launched in 2017 to rally the construction sector around the shared goal of developing future-ready capabilities that would transform our Built Environment. We have made steady progress. We have greened over 40% of our buildings. This has involved making use of sustainable technologies and designs, such as more energy-efficient systems to cool and ventilate our buildings. The overall energy use intensity of our buildings has improved by 10% over the past decade.

At the worksite, we have seen a 7% improvement in productivity since 2017. This is driven by the adoption of innovative building approaches like Design for Manufacturing and Assembly, or DfMA for short, and digital technologies like Integrated Digital Delivery, or IDD.

DfMA allows building components to be prefabricated off-site in automated facilities and subsequently assembled on-site. This raises productivity, improves workmanship and reduces disamenities to residents near construction sites. DfMA adoption has doubled over the last three years, from 19% in 2017 to 39% in 2020.

IDD connects the various parts of the building lifecycle together via a digital spine. This facilitates coordination among project stakeholders which improves accuracy of design and planning and reduces abortive work downstream. We have built up IDD competencies in more than 150 firms through 48 demonstration projects over the last three years.

A good example is Techniques Air-conditioning & Engineering Pte Ltd, an SME specialising in the installation of mechanical services. When I spoke to them earlier, they shared they have tapped on BCA's Productivity Innovation Project, or PIP scheme. They have switched over to a prefabricated mechanical, electrical and plumbing, or MEP system. Techniques shared with me that onsite works involving the installation of pipes and ducts took about two to three weeks in the past. Time was needed to erect the scaffolding, perform welding and insulation works and conduct regular tests on the installation.

Today, with the use of prefabricated vertical riser modules, such works are done well within a single day onsite. Techniques has also leveraged the Building Information Modelling (BIM) and automation through its use of computer numerical control, or CMC machines to raise productivity. Cutting instructions to the machines can be automatically generated from a 3D building model, allowing changes to be made quickly and accurately. What used to take one-and-a-half hours using manual templates can be done in just 15 minutes, and precision is much better than previously. Furthermore, Techniques shared with me that they have been able to remotely coordinate with other firms and reduce the number of workers required onsite, making it easier to adhere to safe management measures, especially during this period.

Techniques' experience is not unique. Without these earlier investments, many of our firms would have been more severely disrupted during the challenging COVID-19 period.

As many Members, like Mr Henry Kwek, Mr Xiao Yao Quan and Ms Poh Li San have pointed out, although we have made good progress, we need to pick up the pace of transformation. We are making a greater whole-of-nation push on environmental sustainability – with the Singapore Green Plan 2030.

The Built Environment sector plays an important role in achieving our vision of a greener and more sustainable Singapore. There is also greater urgency to strengthen the resilience of our sector, particularly in reducing reliance on foreign workers.

In the near term, we expect our foreign manpower situation to remain in flux, while COVID-19 travel restrictions are still in place. To alleviate the current labour shortage in the construction industry, we are working closely with MOM and MOH to progressively increase the number of incoming workers but in a safe way, to minimise the risks of COVID-19 transmission in our dormitories and into our community.

At the same time, we want to ensure that migrant workers who are already in Singapore can continue to work here if they choose to. We have invested significantly to keep them safe and they are familiar with our local work culture and environment.

In this respect, we are working closely with the Singapore Contractors Association Limited, or SCAL, to facilitate a change of employer for construction workers whose contracts have either expired or were terminated through the SCAL Manpower Exchange.

However, even as we work closely with our firms to overcome near-term challenges, we recognise that COVID-19 has hastened the shift towards a manpower-lean approach to construction, not just in Singapore, but across many other countries.

Recently, a local subsidiary of a large Chinese construction firm shared with me that the Chinese construction industry is facing a labour crunch. Imagine, even in one of the world's largest labour markets. The median age of the parent company's few million workers in China is 46.5 years old. The managing director lamented to me that it was increasingly difficult to attract young people into the sector, even with competitive wages. Even fewer of them wanted to come and work in Singapore. Like what we are doing in Singapore, the firm is ramping up its investments in DfMA automation and digitalisation in China so as to reduce its reliance on manpower and to build with sustainability in mind.

Mr Chairman, Sir, these are long-term structural shifts confronting our Built Environment sector, accelerated by COVID-19. In the spirit of emerging stronger, we have to seize this window of opportunity to transform. Let me elaborate on how we plan to do so.

First, we will raise standards of sustainability and productivity. Mr Henry Kwek and Mr Xie Yao Quan asked about the Green Building Masterplan and how we plan to curb building emissions.

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Over the past year, BCA and the Singapore Green Building Council have engaged over 5,000 stakeholders, ranging from developers, consultants, builders, members of the public, especially our young people. There is strong support for our Green Building agenda, and a collective desire to ramp up our efforts to combat climate change in Singapore.

But green buildings make commercial sense too. Green buildings reap net savings over their life-cycle, despite the higher upfront cost. For example, a large office building of over 15 storeys can save around $300,000 in operating costs annually by achieving the Green Mark Platinum standard.

Last year, we announced that we would raise minimum energy performance requirements for new buildings and existing buildings that undergo major retrofitting. Under these revised requirements, all new buildings will be 50% more energy-efficient than the 2005 baseline. This is equivalent to our current Green Mark Platinum standard. These requirements will apply to new developments submitted for planning approval from the fourth quarter of this year.

Additionally, we will update the Green Mark scheme. The scheme recognises buildings that pursue sustainability standards beyond the minimum requirements. As Mr Henry Kwek has pointed out, our Green Mark scheme is amongst the world’s leading green building certifications, and a go-to standard for green buildings in the tropics. The Green Mark scheme already encourages reduction of not just operational carbon, but also embodied carbon, through the use of low-carbon materials and sustainable construction. Mr Henry Kwek will also be pleased to know that it already promotes the use of natural ventilation as a passive strategy to cool buildings and improve energy savings. The revised scheme will raise energy performance standards and place greater emphasis on other aspects of sustainability, such as health and well-being, and how the buildings are designed for long-term maintainability.

We intend to trial these new standards from the second quarter of this year, and will take into account industry feedback before we implement the revised scheme. BCA will provide more details in the coming months.

We will also continue our efforts to green our existing stock of buildings. An important step is to enhance data transparency on building energy performance. Currently, we collect and publish the energy performance data of our commercial and institutional buildings. Going forward, we will identify all buildings in the data that we publish, beginning with commercial buildings from the second half of this year. This will allow building owners to benchmark their buildings against others at no additional cost, and spur them to improve their energy efficiency.

We are also exploring other ways to encourage building owners to conduct energy audits and retrofit their buildings to improve energy performance. We will continue to engage the industry and public to ensure that our plans remain relevant over time as we transition to a more sustainable, low carbon Built Environment.

Next, let me touch on raising productivity in our sector.

We have seen good productivity outcomes from adopting DfMA and aim to make DfMA the default building method for larger projects. Under the Buildability framework, projects with Gross Floor Area or GFA of at least 5,000 sqm, are required to meet minimum Buildable Design Scores or B-scores through the adoption of labour-efficient designs and technologies. To drive DfMA adoption, we have raised the minimum B-score for large residential, non-landed developments with GFA of at least 25,000 sqm from December 2019. We will raise the minimum B-score for large commercial, institutional and industrial developments with GFA of at least 25,000 sqm next year, starting from April 2022. This means that, eventually, around 80% of the GFA of all projects submitted for approval will be subject to the higher minimum B-score.

BCA will consult the industry in the coming months before firming up the enhanced standards. This move will help us achieve our target of 70% DfMA adoption by 2025.

We are also working closely with the industry to step up our digitalisation and IDD efforts. As mentioned by Minister Indranee Rajah, the Digitalising Built Environment Alliance for Action or AfA has identified common data environment (CDE) data standards as a key enabler to drive digitalisation across the entire value chain. The common data standards specify what information is required for a project and how it can be structured. Wide adoption of these common standards will facilitate information flow across platforms and enable seamless collaboration amongst the various supply chain partners.

Ms Poh Li San asked about the support we are providing to local SMEs. SMEs make up 98% of our construction firms and play a very critical role in our sector. Our firms, especially SMEs, can tap on the Construction Productivity and Capability Fund (CPCF) for support to adopt productive technologies and develop their workforce. For example, the Productivity Innovation Project (PIP) scheme, helps to defray the costs of adopting DfMA and IDD technologies. Techniques Air-Conditioning & Engineering Pte Ltd, which I mentioned earlier, is a very good example.

Since its launch in 2010, we have supported over 10,000 firms and disbursed close to two-thirds of the approximately $850 million we have been allocated in funding.

To support our firms, especially our SMEs, we will extend the CPCF by another year till March 2022. We will also continue to enhance co-funding support of 80% under the PIP scheme. I encourage all firms to make full use of the CPCF to undertake productivity improvements.

Mr Henry Kwek talked about the difficulty in encouraging Singaporeans to join the construction industry. Mr Xie Yao Quan also asked what types of new jobs in the sector that Singaporeans can look forward to. It is common to associate jobs in the construction sector with the "three Ds": "dirty, dangerous and demanding".

However, as part of this transformation effort, the industry has made strides in redesigning existing jobs and creating new and higher-skilled jobs with better working environments. There are many exciting career pathways in areas such as Digital Delivery Management and Smart Facilities Management. Many of these job roles did not even exist a decade ago.

I recently met Mr Lee Kong Jian, a bright NTU graduate with a background in Civil Engineering. He is working at an Integrated Construction and Prefabrication Hub (ICPH), operated by local contractor Soilbuild Construction Group. Kong Jian is a DfMA engineer in ICPH. His day-to-day job, or day-to-day work, involves using various digital platforms to manage the prefabrication production and delivery of precast concrete components, optimising the process for efficiency while maintaining quality standards for his clients. His job will not be out of place in a high-tech manufacturing factory. So, think about it – creating good, exciting jobs for Singaporeans.

And we are stepping up our efforts to attract local PMETs and more tech-savvy young Singaporeans to join the Built Environment sector. As at end 2020, there were about 7,500 jobs and training opportunities in the construction industry under the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package. Please take a look at it, there are many exciting job roles, for example, Digital Delivery Specialist, Logistics Supply Chain Planner and Environmental Specialist. Exciting job roles for Singaporeans. Good jobs, high skills in demand.

We are also investing in our local workforce to acquire the relevant skills in many areas, especially those that are in demand – green buildings, DfMA and IDD. In September last year, we rolled out the Skills Framework for the Built Environment. The framework promotes recognition of skills development to enhance career progression opportunities.

BCA is working with the various Trade Associations and Chambers (TACs) to align accreditation schemes with the various progression pathways and skill requirements for the various job roles. We will continue to build a strong talent pipeline through our iBuildSG Scholarship and Sponsorship Programme. As of January 2021, we have awarded more than 3,600 scholarships and sponsorships to local students.

But we are not just only focusing on new entrants into the sector. We are taking pains and effort to upgrade our existing workforce as well. I had the privilege of speaking to Ms Kartini, a 45-year-old lady who has been working as a 2D drafter at infrastructure consulting firm, AECOM Singapore, for the last 18 years. She was bubbly, passionate. With the support from her firm and her supervisor whom I spoke to as well, Ms Kartini enrolled in the Professional Conversion Programme, or PCP, for BIM Professionals to upgrade her skillsets for 3D drafting. Today, Ms Kartini is redeployed as a BIM modeller at AECOM. When I spoke to her, there was a palpable sense of satisfaction and pride in having achieved the skills upgrade. She shared with me that her children are very proud of her, and she was very proud of herself. She learnt valuable skills from 2D drafting to 3D modelling, and she shared that 3D modelling enabled them to troubleshoot problems early in the construction process compared to previous ways of doing things. So, we are bringing new entrants into the Built Environment sector by making the effort to train our local workforce and the existing workforce in new skills and new job roles. I urge more firms to tap on these training programmes to upskill their mid-career staff to take on these roles.

Through these collective efforts, we aim to train 80,000 professionals in the key transformation areas under the ITM by 2025. And we are making good progress. The Government is committed to working hand in hand with our tripartite partners, industry associations, firms and unions to transform the Built Environment sector. We envisage a high-tech and integrated construction eco-system, led by progressive local firms with a strong local core, poised to capture even more opportunities abroad as we transform our sector. We hope, and I personally hope, that when we come to talk about jobs in the construction sector, we are no longer associating them with the "three Ds" of "dirty, dangerous and demanding", but a refreshed set of three Ds: desirable jobs, in-demand skills and dynamic careers, allowing us to tap on the imagination, passion and capabilities of our firms and Singaporeans to build a much greener, vibrant and sustainable Singapore for tomorrow.

The Chairman: Clarifications? Ms Cheryl Chan.

Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling: Thank you, Chairman. I have one clarification for Minister Desmond Lee. For companies that are in the Built Environment who are on existing support schemes, if they actually have the intent to improve and invest on capabilities for the longer term, can they actually move from the existing schemes to the integrated GTS support and how should they go about that?

The Minister for National Development (Mr Desmond Lee): Sir, we have the Build.SG office in BCA. We set it up a few years ago to provide more integrated support for our firms and our workforce who would like to go on to this transformation journey. So, certainly, in relation to the GPC Chairman's question, if there are firms that are keen to participate in the GTS – and remember that the GTS is not a firm-based scheme but an Alliance-based scheme from developer to consultant to builder and subcontractors, the whole eco-system that they work with to make their projects come true – if they can transform together, then approach BCA, approach the BuildSG office and we will work with them.

The Chairman: Mr Gerald Giam.

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song (Aljunied): Thank you, Sir. I do not believe any of the officeholders have addressed my proposals about the Temporary Development Levy (TDL). First, I have asked whether the TDL applicants will discuss the split of the TDL between the landlord and the tenant; second, to give businesses a choice of temporary permission of between three and five years to align with typical commercial tenancy agreements; and third, to give deserving businesses rebates or deferments of their TDL if they need it.

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Mr Desmond Lee: I thank the Member for his suggestions which we will take on board and we will study the support that may still be needed for firms.

But just some background, the TDL framework, as had been our response to the Member's Parliamentary Question, I think, last month or the month before is something that we allow the landlord and the tenant to work out. And by and large, it is typically the business owner who will pay for the TDL. In terms of the duration, URA evaluates planning applications according to the planning intentions for the site, the area the site is situated in and the prevailing policies and guidelines for the proposals. And in considering the length of the temporary permission to be granted, URA looks at it from a risk-based approach based on the potential impact of the proposal on surrounding developments. So, for cases involving a TDL, URA typically gives businesses options to decide on the length of the TDL or the temporary permission that they require which typically varies from one to five years.

But on a holistic basis, when it comes to support for firms in relation to land costs and rental, MOF had rolled out a rental relief framework for SMEs under COTMA, which is the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act. There was a property tax rebate available to qualifying firms and, under the Re-align Framework by MinLaw, small and micro businesses may re-negotiate leases for non-residential properties with a term of five years or less. So, they can then realign contracts with existing business conditions through mutual agreement with counterparties. If they cannot reach agreement, then they can terminate it and unwind.

So, that is the existing framework but let us look at the Member's specific proposal.

The Chairman: Mr Louis Ng

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: Thank you, Sir. I believe my cut on cat ownership in HDB flats was not answered but I assume the answer is still a "no" and, if it is still a "no", could I at least ask whether we can extend the current pilot in Chong Pang, where HDB residents are allowed to keep cats, to other constituencies? I would volunteer my own constituency of Nee Soon East and, maybe, the Member of Parliament for Kembangan/Chai Chee will volunteer as well.

The Chairman: Again, I have to emphasise I remain neutral on this topic.

Mr Desmond Lee: I mean, my MND colleagues and I do not intend to play a cat-and-mouse game with the Member on this question. [Laughter.] As I have said previously, we are studying this issue. We want to enable pet ownership in a responsible way but we also have to balance a couple of other considerations, including municipal as well as neighbourhood issues. We certainly are studying this proactively.

The Chairman: Assoc Prof Jamus Lim.

Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: Thank you, Chairman. I just have a quick follow-up question for Senior Minister of State Sim Ann.

I appreciate her response that commercial facilities may require footfall and, hence, some commercial facilities may not be attractive on upper floors of MSCPs. But, surely, a cafe or a laundromat on the upper decks of an MSCP that is just downstairs of a flat would really be attractive to someone, compared to one located 400 m away.

I have many residents that shared that they miss the convenience of having a mama shop just downstairs of their place. So, in the spirit of pilot suggestions, I wonder if HDB would consider a pilot, perhaps in Sengkang, for this kind of possibility of commercial spaces in MSCPs.

Ms Sim Ann: I thank the Member for his follow-up question. As shared, where we place the commercial facilities in any town would have to take into account the shops that have already been planned for and also in terms of the space that is proposed, whether, for instance, it was built for that purpose and, if it is not built for that purpose, what kind of modifications would be required in order to achieve that purpose.

In the case of MSCPs, for instance, we may have to look at loading factor, provision of water and also, very importantly, because the space may not have been originally intended for commercial purposes, what would be the impact to residents in terms of people moving in and out and so forth? So, I think we would be prepared to look at specific proposals if the Member has something to share or a plan to share. But what I have shared would be the general factors for consideration.

The Chairman: Mr Lim Biow Chuan.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan: I have two clarifications. One is for Senior Minister Sim Ann – Madam, please do not go away yet. Just wanted to ask about the spalling concrete. When the residents complained about spalling concrete, it is like going to drop onto their head and, frequently, they want a solution fast. But the reality is that when we complained to HDB about the spalling concrete, they take a while for someone to come, inspect the place, then arrange for a contractor to come. In the meanwhile, the resident says that "Hey, look, you know, this thing is going to drop on my head. It is gonna to injure me and it is going to hurt me any time." So, is there any way that we can ask HDB to do a more comprehensive programme whereby we can try to put a stop to the issue of spalling concrete?

The second clarification that I require is from Minister of State Faishal Ibrahim. This is regarding the rental flats. I understand the proposal to have a partition in the 1-room flat. But may I ask the Minister of State what is the response of residents to this 1-room flat being partitioned? Because at the end of the day, the residents who share a 1-room flat have to share toilets, they have got to share the kitchen as well, and we are not going to be able to say that "Look, you know, my soap is here and the shampoo is somewhere else." They have to share facilities. Frequently, the feedback that I get is that they are unhappy about having to share and that is why some of them then moved out from the flat and sleep in the void deck. So, is that really the solution that we want? So, perhaps Minister of State can clarify that for me.

Ms Sim Ann: Thank you, Mr Lim, for your follow-up question.

When it comes to spalling concrete, we help our residents beyond the goodwill repair assistance scheme, which I should also add households can benefit from more than once. We are also assisting by researching into better repair methods so as to be able to advise the contractors accordingly. I have also shared more comprehensive plans are being looked at but that would be further down the line because that would be for our HIP2 and more details will be shared closer to commencement. However, we do take the Member's feedback very seriously and I will come and visit the units that you have mentioned, together with HDB, to ensure that residents' concerns are being addressed.

The Chairman: Minister of State Faishal Ibrahim.

Assoc Prof Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim: Chairman, I thank the Member for the question.

As I have shared in my speech, we have built new rental flats with partition. At the same time, we have received requests to do it at the older rental flats. We still do. So far, the feedback has been positive. One point to note is that a majority of those who live in rental flats, especially under the JSS, they are able to live together. However, there are times that individuals may not be able to live together. We constantly look at it, engage them and, at the same time, we explore areas where we can help to improve the condition or privacy provided. So, what we found is that what they need are places where they can rest with privacy and also, at the same time, are able to use the facilities available in the flat. So, using of the toilet, using of the kitchen, I think they are okay sharing it. But, essentially, what we found is that, which I shared earlier, when they want to rest, they want to sleep, I think what is important is they want to have their private space in there.

On our part, we will continue to look at avenues to improve it, not only within the rental flats but also outside the rental flats, which we have done for some, and we find that these are areas where the tenants feel and appreciate it, and we will not stop there.

The Chairman: Mr Henry Kwek.

Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry: Mr Chairman, Sir, I have a supplementary question for Minister of State Tan Kiat How regarding R&D and its role within the context of the Industry Transformation Map.

Now, I am very heartened to hear that tremendous resources have been put into the adoption of DfMA, IDD and the Green Plan. But R&D is also a key part for us to achieve industry transformation beyond adoption. Both the research as well as the development, which is more like localisation of international technology within the Singapore context, within our Singapore realities. So, can the Minister of State share on how are we promoting R&D and technology pilots within the context of industry transformation?

Mr Tan Kiat How: Mr Chairman, I thank the Member for his question.

As Minister Desmond Lee has pointed earlier in his speech, investing in innovation to spur growth and transformation is an important part of building a resilient Built Environment sector and we will continue to invest in R&D and innovation to drive growth for our sector, particularly in transformative technologies. A key focus area is the development of technologies that will help us to build faster, safer and using less manpower.

I think Minister Indranee Rajah spoke about the Cities of Tomorrow R&D programme, and we support R&D efforts through that programme on advanced construction techniques, particularly for robotics, automation, 3D concrete printing and digitalisation. These are some of the areas, I think, Member Ms Poh Li San spoke about just now in her cut.

Minister Indranee Rajah spoke about the noise cancellation window just now. And let me give another example of some of the innovation and R&D work that our colleagues have been doing. This is called the anti-sway device – "sway" is S-W-A-Y; not "suay" for bad luck in Hokkien!

HDB and BCA are collaborating with researchers from NUS, A*STAR SIMTech and industry partners, such as Precast Concrete and Dragages to develop an anti-sway device to stabilise the movement of prefabricated pre-finished volumetric construction, or PPVC modules during hoisting operations. The anti-sway device which will be fitted on cranes and hooked onto the PPVC modules includes a self-balancing system that reduces the manpower required to manually stabilise the modules. It does not sound as exciting compared to the noise cancellation windows, but an important investment in R&D in the Built Environment sector. Just one example to share with the Member.

However, the Member also pointed out a very important point about not just R&D but translating it into use on the ground, working together with our private sector partners and our companies.

To achieve meaningful impact, we are stepping up efforts to support deployment of innovative urban solutions. In September last year, we launched the Built Environment Living Laboratory Framework or Living Lab Framework to facilitate the test bedding of innovative proposals in "government living labs", such as designated areas within Punggol town and the Jurong Lake District. The Living Lab Framework helps to strengthen partnerships between the public and private sector, and creates opportunities to harness and trial new, emerging technologies to jointly develop cities for tomorrow.

This is achieved by providing a convenient one-stop service for submission of test-bedding proposals and reducing regulatory burden on firms. The Living Lab Framework will be supported by the existing inter-agency Building Innovation Panel to facilitate multi-agency regulatory clearances for more complex solutions, and I encourage more firms to tap on this Living Lab Framework to come forward with good proposals.

The Chairman: Mr Louis Chua.

Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: Thank you, Chairman. I have one clarification for Minister Lee. I think the Minister talked about the aspirations of home ownership and meeting them. But at the same time, given the current socio-economic trends, I think rentals in a sharing economy, this is also something which is gaining traction amongst younger Singaporeans. So, again, to quote Westlife, a "world of our own" may mean not just owned flats but also rental flats. Is MND considering expanding the supply of rental flats to meet this demographic trend and also the demands of the public rental scheme?

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Mr Desmond Lee: I thank the Member for highlighting the diversity of aspirations, which we all see amongst younger Singaporeans. When you talk about rental flats, a lot of us in this House relate to rental housing for lower income households. That is one. But the other means through which HDB rents out flats is the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (PPHS). It is a scheme that allows young couples who desire some privacy and to be able to set up their family. While waiting for the BTO flat to be completed, they are able to access these flats and rent a flat for those few years at subsidised rates. There was initially slow, low interest at first, but it has become an option of interest to many young couples who are currently living with parents – they are now able to live together and set up their own home in with their own privacy for those few years.

PPHS flats, we source them opportunistically. From flats that have been SERS-ed, we hold back the redevelopment because it is not needed immediately, and we use those flats in order to provide the PPHS option. And because there is great interest in PPHS flats, particularly during this period when there is COVID-19 and there are delays in construction, HDB will look at ways to increase PPHS supply.

But I think the Member makes a broader point which is a diversity of housing options on the longer term basis, for people who may feel that home ownership is not for them or not for them at that point in time, and they would prefer to rent. There is a rental market out there for people to rent smaller units, both in the private market, as well as HDB flats. Those are available.

HDB continues to look at various housing options. To provide diversity, we have over the years, provided even more choice in terms of length of lease, in terms of the social accompaniments to housing, in relation to rental for young couples, in relation to rental housing for the lower income. And so, we continuously look at the aspirations of Singaporeans and see how we can provide the support for those aspirations.

Mr Saktiandi Supaat: Speaker, thank you for allowing me to make the cut so late in the day, but I would like to ask the Minister regarding my cut earlier, with regard to the EIP question, I suggested an EIP price harmonisation grant for the minority residents who are affected by the EIP, so that we can reduce any indirect negative market effects of the EIP, and also encourage them to sell their flats at a lower price to buyers of the same ethnic group.

The reason why I asked is because I have been approached by a number of my residents who either Malay, Eurasian or Indian who are elderly and middle-aged and they want to downgrade. And they are having difficulty selling their flats, waiting up to six to nine months even. I am aware that on a case-by-case basis, the Minister mentioned just now, time extensions, case-by-case basis, and look at them intensely on a case-by-case basis. But in principle, is MND looking for any sort of help or assistance to reduce, narrow some of these potential economic inequalities that may arise from the EIP?

Mr Desmond Lee: I thank his Member for his care and concern for seniors, in particular those who might be impacted by EIP which seeks to serve a bigger social objective. We are grateful that Singaporeans, all these decades, have been supportive of multi-culturalism and of the different institutions that we put in place in order to act as a bulwark to protect Singapore and to keep Singapore cohesive.

Having said that, we are very mindful that in certain instances, the EIP can legitimately impact some households. We look at the individual's circumstances. We look at the recent resales that have been similarly affected by EIP in the neighbourhood, and look at the price points. We look at a range of considerations and in extenuating circumstances, we provide support.

Having said that, we are always reviewing our policies, looking at how, for institutions, including one as important as EIP, we can continue to find new ways and ideas so that public support continues to be behind such important institutions.

Ms Poh Li San: Thank you, Mr Chairman. I thank the Minister of State on the clarification on how the Government can incentivise SMEs to improve productivity and drive innovation. I also thank Minister Desmond Lee's sharing of the Singapore Green Building Masterplan's targets to meet the 80-80-80 goals. However, I believe my question on how we can ensure that property prices for our public housing can remain affordable inclusive and livable, may not have been answered. How can we do that while incorporating all these very ideal, new building requirements?

Mr Desmond Lee: Certainly, accessible and affordable and inclusive housing in our HDB estates is a very important objective of the Housing and Development Board. The efforts to transform and upgrade our Built Environment sector should not impact upon the pricing approach for HDB flats. I explained quite recently in this House, how HDB prices its flats. It does not look at land costs or construction costs. It prices flats based on affordability – looking at, for example, the percentage of household income that our typical households have to fork out to pay for their flats, as well as the household income to price index, to see how many years of income it typically takes to pay for a flat. We look at the market value of the flat based on its attributes as well as recent resales around the estate, and then make adjustments for the attributes of the flat, and then apply the subsidies in order to bring it to the affordable level.

The Chairman: Miss Cheryl Chan, would you like to withdraw your amendment?

Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling: Chairman, I want to thank all the Members who have spoken in the MND COS. As we can all appreciate the work that MND deals with is both broad and complex, as it touches every person's lives on a daily basis, and more importantly throughout their entire life stage. So, I think from housing to workplaces, the construction industry, trees, animals and land use. There is always a constant need for us to tightly balance this, between demand as well as availability. And at the same time, we have to reimagine the city of the future.

So, for that, I would like to express my sincere thanks to Minister Desmond Lee, Second Minister Indranee Rajah, Senior Minister of State Sim Ann, Minister of State Faishal, Minister of State Tan, and especially, the hardworking team from the MND family. Sir, earlier today, we discuss much about celebrating the hawker culture, and since it is almost dinner time, I would like to end here, so that everyone can go for more hawker food. And with that Mr Chairman, I beg leave to withdraw amendment.

The Chairman: It is actually past dinner time. [Laughter.]

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

The sum of $$4,148,756,900 for Head T ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates.

The sum of $9,072,729,400 for Head T ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates.