Further Expediting of Applications for Financial Assistance under ComCare Schemes

15 Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked the Minister for Social and Family Development whether there is any room for the application process for financial assistance under ComCare schemes to be further expedited.

The Minister for Social and Family Development (Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M): Mr Speaker, most ComCare applications are processed within four weeks, with almost all applications processed within six weeks. In the interim, if a household requires immediate support, Social Service Offices (SSOs) provide ComCare Interim Assistance.

Time is needed to assess a household’s application for financial assistance, to ensure they meet the eligibility criteria and for proper stewardship of public resources. Officers are required to gather information on clients’ circumstances, verify supporting documents and refer to other agencies or services for support beyond ComCare.

At the same time, we have made ComCare applications simpler and more convenient in recent years through digitalisation. The Member may wish to refer to past replies for further elaboration. We will continue to explore how to streamline our processes.

Mr Speaker: Mr Gan.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh (Ang Mo Kio): I thank the Minister for the comprehensive reply. I do receive quite a number of residents' feedback, who actually came to me. It is because of the timeframe that they came to me for.

I wonder whether it is possible for the Ministry to go further to work with agencies to have direct access to the data, of course, with the permission of applicants.

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M: Our officials have been working really hard to get cross-Ministry data and collaboration, and to ensure that we simplify for the applicants the process of getting support. One way is for them to apply online at the SupportGoWhere portal, where they no longer need to key in all their personal information by using Singpass access and everything that is within that, will already be submitted. That means there is no longer the need to submit physical documents.

Even after that, our officers still need to verify these documents and sometimes, they have to check with other agencies. Therefore, when they do this online and get the permission either through online self application or when they meet the clients, we can get information from other agencies like the Central Provident Fund Board, Housing and Development Board, and Immigration and Checkpoints Authority. Therefore, all these documents need not be submitted physically.

For the very small minority who somehow did not get through in that timeframe and if they approach any of our Members, please send them to us and we will look at what the problems really are. If these are things that we can then streamline, we will certainly try to eliminate these delays.

Mr Speaker: Mr Pritam Singh.

Mr Pritam Singh (Aljunied): Thank you, Mr Speaker, just a clarification for the Minister. In view of the rising number of seniors who stay alone, for example, and may face difficulties to get online, notwithstanding more touchpoints that the Minister shared, does the Ministry consider more frequent, or is it looking at even considering the prospect of visiting these people who ask for support or who need financial assistance but for various reasons such as mobility, are not able to reach the SSOs or access the various electronic options that are available for quicker assessment of their applications?

And if so, does the Minister foresee this to be an issue which will repeat itself more frequently in future, where there may well be a need for SSO officers to visit some individuals, as appropriate?

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M: My thanks to the Leader of the Opposition for bringing up that issue. It is a very specific issue for our seniors. Already, our Silver Generation Ambassadors (SGAs) visit them very regularly, some of them, so regularly and getting so intimate that when the seniors pass on, you can see the effect on our SGAs. It is not just about visiting them and taking data and so forth. They actually know the condition of the seniors. Through these, they also know that the seniors may not have support or because of changing circumstances may not have support, and therefore, will proactively ask them whether they need it, and then, will refer them to the SSOs.

So, the visiting is already being done by our SGAs. I do not think we need to duplicate that. The cross referencing is also being done and I know this is being done. The SSOs will then take over to check and assess whether our seniors are actually really needing the financial assistance. Then, we will bypass all the need for digitalisation and facilitate them getting the support they need.