Extension of Home Improvement Programme to Flats Built after 1986

5 Er Dr Lee Bee Wah asked the Minister for National Development whether the Home Improvement Programme can be extended to flats built after 1986 when they reach 30 years.

The Minister for National Development (Mr Lawrence Wong): Madam, the Home Improvement Programme (HIP) was introduced in 2007 with about 300,000 eligible flats. Flats built up to 1986 and which have not undergone the Main Upgrading Programme are eligible for HIP.

To date, HIP has been announced for over 200,000 flats. The Housing and Development Board (HDB) is working to first complete the selection of the remaining flats eligible for HIP by financial years (FY) 2018 before we assess whether to extend HIP beyond the current cohort of flats. But as with all publicly-funded programmes, this will be contingent on the Government's fiscal position and budget availability.

Mdm Speaker: Er Dr Lee Bee Wah.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah (Nee Soon): Mdm Speaker, I have two supplementary questions.

First, in the older part of Nee Soon South, I have half of the total of HDB flats there which are built in 1985/1986 and the other half built in 1987/1988. So, very often, residents would ask me "为 什 么 对 面 有, 我 们 没 有?", and the flats are reaching 30 years old. When you first announced those that were selected, we were talking about flats of 30 years. Next year, they will be 30. So, I would like to ask the Minister whether he can get the funding and announce the next batch so that they will know that they will have it, rather than keep comparing with the blocks across the street.

Second, after doing these few batches of HIP, would there be modifications in the design? The feedback from some of those early batches is that "Before HIP, I do not have music during the rainy days. Now, after HIP, I always hear 'tick tock, tick tock'." That means some design modification is required. I think the clothes drying poles also need modification.

Mr Lawrence Wong: Madam, I thank the Member for her feedback. We will, indeed, take into consideration, should there be a new scheme, all the feedback from residents and see how future upgrading can be improved. That is continuously being done.

On the budget, this is something that we are studying. As I have mentioned, it is not a small expense because an upgrading project is not just a one-time expenditure; it is a multi-year expenditure. The last upgrading HIP was announced in 2007, and we are only going to be able to complete it in FY2018. More than 10 years, billions of dollars being invested. When we want to think about another round of upgrading, I think it is fair and prudent for the Government to think about sustainability, to consider whether or not we are able to afford such a major programme that will run through many years, potentially even past this term and future terms of Government.

That is something that we would have to think very carefully about and consider. Certainly, from a Ministry of National Development point of view, I will be very happy to support this and I will want all our older towns to be upgraded as soon as possible. From a Ministry of Finance (MOF) perspective – and perhaps here I wear my other hat now – I have to say we will have to consider this very carefully and study it to make sure that budget availability is sustainable.

Mdm Speaker: Er Dr Lee Bee Wah.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: From the MOF point of view, I think it is good to push out more HIP. Because of the economic downturn, a lot of contractors out there are hungry for jobs, you will get value-for-money. So, please. Thank you.

Mr Lawrence Wong: Madam, we note the Member's feedback and we will certainly take that into consideration.

Mdm Speaker: Ms Jessica Tan.

Ms Jessica Tan Soon Neo (East Coast): I would just like to ask a supplementary question: if the programme cannot be extended in its totality, with regard to the clothes hanging facility, that is because of an ageing population causing quite a lot of challenges for the older flats. For the residents to be able to actually use those contraptions now, it is challenging and poses a safety issue as well. Can consideration be given at least to look at upgrading and modifying that for residents?

Mr Lawrence Wong: Madam, as I have said earlier, we do not just look at major upgrading per se. As part of these major upgrading programmes, we have various other smaller refinement, fine-tuning, upgrading schemes that are also in place.

We will always take into consideration feedback, like the ones that have been expressed about the hanging of clothes, and we will see what we can do in future rounds of upgrading to see how these can be taken into consideration.