Criteria and Appeals for Early Graduation from Home Ownerhsip Plus Education Scheme
Ministry of Social and Family DevelopmentSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the criteria and appeal outcomes for early graduation from the Home Ownership Plus Education (HOPE) Scheme for low-income families. MP Raeesah Khan inquired about the number of families seeking early graduation since 2004 and the specific conditions required to qualify for such requests. Minister Masagos Zulkifli B M M explained that early graduation requires a monthly household income exceeding $4,000 and five years of sustained employment for both spouses. Since the scheme's inception, the Ministry has supported four out of five appeals, permitting these families to retain all disbursed benefits including housing and education subsidies. One appeal from a divorced client was unsuccessful as she did not meet the mandatory criteria necessary for early graduation from the scheme.
Transcript
46 Ms Raeesah Khan asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what is the number of families and widowed or divorced mothers who have appealed for early graduation from the Home Ownership Plus Education (HOPE) Scheme since its implementation in 2004; and (b) what is the approval rate of these appeals.
47 Ms Raeesah Khan asked the Minister for Social and Family Development what are the criteria that families and widowed or divorced mothers under the Home Ownership Plus Education (HOPE) Scheme need to meet in order to graduate from the scheme.
Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M: The Home Ownership Plus Education (HOPE) scheme supports young, low-income families who choose to keep their families small, so that they can focus their resources on giving their children a head start, and improve their financial and social situation. Families who join the scheme receive assistance in the form of housing subsidies, utilities grants, employment and training incentives, education bursaries, family planning and mentoring support.
Families can stay on the scheme until graduation, when the mother turns 45 years of age. They can also choose to withdraw from the scheme earlier at any time. The Ministry will help families to transit to other forms of assistance, if needed.
Families who have improved their circumstances over time and wish to have more than two children within the context of marriage may apply to graduate early from the scheme, if their monthly household income exceeds $4,000, and both husband and wife have been in sustained employment for at least five years. If a family's appeal for early graduation is supported, it can keep all benefits disbursed to them under the scheme. Since the scheme's inception in 2004, we have supported four out of the five clients who appealed for early graduation. One divorced client's appeal was turned down as she did not meet the criteria for early graduation.