Public Buildings without Family-friendly Facilities and Plans to Encourage Owners to Retrofit Such Facilities
Ministry of National DevelopmentSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the number of public buildings lacking family-friendly facilities and measures to encourage retrofitting, as raised by Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap. Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong stated that since 2014, the Code on Accessibility mandates such facilities for new or majorly retrofitted buildings like transport hubs and large shopping malls. The Building and Construction Authority supports private owners of pre-1990 buildings via the Accessibility Fund, which covers up to 60% of retrofitting costs, capped at $300,000. Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong noted that requirements will expand to healthcare facilities in 2020 and that about 90 buildings have officially met standards so far. Furthermore, a voluntary certification scheme was introduced in 2018 to recognize businesses that provide family-friendly facilities and services to the public.
Transcript
14 Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap asked the Minister for National Development (a) currently, how many public buildings frequented by families do not have family-friendly facilities such as a lactation room or a diaper changing room; and (b) what is being done to encourage the owners to retrofit such facilities in these existing buildings.
Mr Lawrence Wong: Since April 2014, new buildings that are frequented by families such as transport hubs, sports complexes, community clubs and larger shopping malls of more than 10,000 square metres in gross floor area, are required to provide family-friendly facilities under the Building and Construction Authority's (BCA) Code on Accessibility. Such facilities include lactation rooms and diaper changing stations. Existing buildings which undergo major retrofitting works also need to meet these requirements. To date, about 90 buildings have been newly developed or have undergone major retrofitting, and all have met the requirements. However, the actual number of buildings with family-friendly facilities is likely to be higher, as other building owners may have moved to provide such facilities on their own as part of their renovation works, for example, in malls. BCA does not track such buildings if they did not undergo major retrofitting works. From 2020, lactation rooms will also be required in more building types, including healthcare facilities.
BCA provides funding support under the Accessibility Fund for private building owners who wish to retrofit pre-1990 buildings with family-friendly facilities. For each eligible development, the Fund supports up to 60% of the retrofitting cost, up to a cap of $300,000. In addition to funding, BCA also worked with MSF to introduce a voluntary certification scheme in 2018 – the Universal Design Mark for Family-Friendly Business – to recognise businesses that provide family-friendly facilities and services.