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Proportion of Land Area Set Aside for Green Spaces 1 Ms Poh Li San asked the Minister for National Development with respect to the Singapore Green Plan (a) what is the long-term proportion of land area set aside for green spaces as urbanisation continues; and (b) what is the progress of the OneMillionTrees movement.
Proportion of Land Area Set Aside for Green Spaces Mr Speaker, Sir, under the City in Nature pillar of the Singapore Green Plan (SGP) 2030, we aim to add 1,000 hectares (ha) of green spaces by 2035. These 1,000 ha of green spaces have been safeguarded in the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA’s) Master Plan since 2019 and we will be progressively implementing them.
Proportion of Land Area Set Aside for Green Spaces We are also on track to plant one million trees by 2030 to foster greater stewardship of our greenery and nature in Singaporeans. As of January 2026, over 832,000 trees have been planted, involving over 150,000 community participations.
Proportion of Land Area Set Aside for Green Spaces Ms Poh.
Proportion of Land Area Set Aside for Green Spaces Thank you, Speaker, and thank you to Minister of State Alvin Tan. I have three supplementary questions. First, given the latest update by Deputy Prime Minister Gan yesterday on declining population growth these few years and possible population decline in 2030s if there is no reversal of the trend, will the Ministry of National Development (MND) then review the green spaces allocation in the long-term land planning considerations, as a proportion of the total land usage?
Proportion of Land Area Set Aside for Green Spaces The second supplementary question: green spaces are essential for the mental well-being of Singaporeans. As mental wellness issues come to the forefront, can more cleared land be set aside for open spaces like parks and recreational spaces for people to unwind, to decompress and do sports?
Proportion of Land Area Set Aside for Green Spaces And the third supplementary question: vegetation is an effective means to counter urban heat. In view of rising urban heat concerns, will MND consider increasing the pace of the OneMillionTrees movement and in fact, even go beyond the one million trees target to perhaps, 1.5 million or even two million trees by 2030?
Proportion of Land Area Set Aside for Green Spaces Sir, I thank Ms Poh Li San for her thoughtful three supplementary questions. I will say first of all that we are committed to build Singapore as a City in Nature – that is our vision for the long term. And indeed, green spaces and the preservation of green spaces are critical. But we also need to balance between green spaces as well as our building needs, as I have mentioned in this House prior.
Proportion of Land Area Set Aside for Green Spaces In that regard, the National Parks Board (NParks) has been working very closely with MND to safeguard our green spaces, including over 7,800 ha of green spaces and that includes nature reserves, nature parks, parks, park connectors and includes our four nature reserves, which contain some of the most sensitive and biodiverse habitats.
Proportion of Land Area Set Aside for Green Spaces We are also on track to safeguard an additional 1,000 ha of green spaces and we have also already developed 130 ha of parks in the last five years.
Proportion of Land Area Set Aside for Green Spaces On her second supplementary question about the link between green spaces and mental health, that is something that we look into very carefully. We do think that there is a strong link between green spaces and the ability and opportunities for us to enjoy these green spaces, which have benefits to mental health. In that regard, last year, I announced the Parks for Health Framework under NParks, where we have identified 15 contemplative landscape sites, including Farquhar Garden at Fort Canning Park and the Learning Forest at Singapore Botanic Gardens. In that regard, we are building these contemplative landscape sites and more rest points along park connectors in areas with more seniors. We are also bringing these areas and parks closer to the community, including our therapeutic gardens in neighbourhoods and within healthcare institutions. In fact, by 2030, I announced that we aim to have 30 therapeutic gardens and we are working with the Housing and Development Board (HDB) and SingHealth to make this happen.
Proportion of Land Area Set Aside for Green Spaces On the Member's third point on heat resilience, we do have heat resilience mitigation measures. In fact, in our planning considerations, we incorporate wind flow considerations into urban planning. And we also have adaptation measures, including heat stress advisories, which can help the community to plan their activities.
Proportion of Land Area Set Aside for Green Spaces But our City in Nature vision moves beyond, and it is really beyond the OneMillionTrees movement. We have a broad project in place to ensure that Singapore remains a City in Nature, of which the OneMillionTrees movement is one particular goal, as well as one particular initiative.
Use of AI Chatbots for Counselling and Mental Health Support by Teenagers and Young Adults 2 Dr Charlene Chen asked the Coordinating Minister for Social Policies and Minister for Health in view of the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots for counselling and mental health support by teenagers and young adults (a) how the Ministry is monitoring this trend; (b) what measures are in place to guide users towards qualified mental health services where appropriate; and (c) what safeguards are being considered to protect vulnerable users.
Use of AI Chatbots for Counselling and Mental Health Support by Teenagers and Young Adults Sir, artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots have become so ubiquitous now that it is no longer practical to track its use for counselling or mental health support.
Use of AI Chatbots for Counselling and Mental Health Support by Teenagers and Young Adults In general, it is not appropriate to use generative AI (GenAI) chatbots as a replacement for a qualified mental health care provider. AI chatbots are not designed to address mental health issues or provide treatment for mental health conditions and risk providing misinformation or inappropriate responses when dealing with serious mental health crises, and may cause harm instead.
Use of AI Chatbots for Counselling and Mental Health Support by Teenagers and Young Adults But fundamentally, young people and many patients with mental health issues sometimes seek out these online chatbots because of the anonymity it offers and also because it is easily available and accessible, 24/7. Our approach is to encourage individuals seeking qualified mental health services to approach our First Stop for Mental Health services such as national mindline 1771, mindline.sg, Community Outreach Teams and CHAT. We put forth these resources so that they become the legitimate alternatives that those seeking the same advantages of anonymity and easy accessibility can now go to a legitimate source to get the same kind of services for which we know is legitimate, and they can get proper referrals onwards as well, to the care that they need beyond CHAT.
Use of AI Chatbots for Counselling and Mental Health Support by Teenagers and Young Adults These resources which we put online are also more contextualised to our local needs. I believe there is a distinct advantage. But what we need to do is to do a lot more education, and make these resources be more available and make awareness for these resources be elevated amongst the public so that they go to these legitimate resources, rather than rely on the online chatbots that they can find.
Use of AI Chatbots for Counselling and Mental Health Support by Teenagers and Young Adults While enforcement is not practical, there are safeguards in place to protect younger users online. Under the Code of Practice for Online Safety – App Distribution Services, users’ exposure to harmful content on these services must be minimised. Designated app stores are also required to implement age assurance measures by 31 March this year. Digital content developers are also expected to comply with the Model AI Governance Framework for Generative AI to ensure responsible development and application of AI for youths and children.
Use of AI Chatbots for Counselling and Mental Health Support by Teenagers and Young Adults Additionally, the Infocomm Media Development Authority's (IMDA's) Digital Skills for Life framework includes content on how to use GenAI and manage its potential risks. Individuals can learn at their own pace through the available resources.
Use of AI Chatbots for Counselling and Mental Health Support by Teenagers and Young Adults Dr Chen.
Use of AI Chatbots for Counselling and Mental Health Support by Teenagers and Young Adults I thank the Senior Minister of State for his responses. I just have three supplementary questions. Given that Large Language Models (LLMs) may be used to train the data, train and help people understand the data better, how does the Ministry assess potential data privacy risks, and are there going to be safeguards or informed consent standards being considered to protect vulnerable users?
Use of AI Chatbots for Counselling and Mental Health Support by Teenagers and Young Adults The second one is, given that AI systems may overly affirm users' views, which may actually reinforce harmful thinking, and also over reliance may reduce actual help seeking behaviours, has the Ministry assessed this risk?
Use of AI Chatbots for Counselling and Mental Health Support by Teenagers and Young Adults And lastly, I am glad that the Senior Minister of State has mentioned cross-cultural differences. Is the Ministry willing to support studies to understand how AI counselling tools can be used better and how their impact will be on mental health outcomes in Singapore?
Use of AI Chatbots for Counselling and Mental Health Support by Teenagers and Young Adults Sir, I thank the Member for her pertinent questions and thoughtful questions on this very important issue that increasingly many people in public, especially young people, are concerned about.
Use of AI Chatbots for Counselling and Mental Health Support by Teenagers and Young Adults On her first question on how can we assess data privacy and whether informed consent is needed, I think in the first instance, many of these resources we put online, such as mindline.sg, works on the basis of anonymity. So, you cannot really do an informed consent when you want it to be anonymous, so that the person seeking help does not have to worry about his or her data being exposed. The assurance we want to give to them is that first of all, the anonymity already ensures that none of these things that you actually divulge to the counsellor online or to the chatbot can be traced back to the individual. So, that is the first thing. And we want to make sure that the barrier to access this care is something that is as low as possible.
Use of AI Chatbots for Counselling and Mental Health Support by Teenagers and Young Adults On the second question on whether these chatbots overly affirm users' views, especially those who may have suicidal ideation, and whether that will reinforce the person to end up taking action, let me just give a little bit more insight on what we use in mindline.sg, one of the First Stops for Mental Health services, which is a digital platform that uses a chatbot. It is a chatbot based on Wysa. It is a specialised mental health AI-enabled chatbot. This chatbot then guides users through digital therapeutic exercises such as mindfulness, deep breathing techniques, sleep hygiene practices that are inspired by cognitive behavioural therapy principles. It aims to supplement our existing professional counselling and therapy services by serving as a 24/7 available pocket therapist that removes any barriers towards help seeking and signpost help seekers to local human-based resources.
Use of AI Chatbots for Counselling and Mental Health Support by Teenagers and Young Adults But just to reassure the Member, unlike GenAI chatbots, Wysa is designed to deliver such digital therapeutic exercises via a rule-based model. It is not something like the chatbot itself can be extremely creative and come up with a new suggestions. There is a rule-based model in it, so the conversation follows a structured decision tree, which is developed and continuously validated by clinicians. The Wysa chatbot has been clinically evaluated for its efficacy, safety and impact.
Use of AI Chatbots for Counselling and Mental Health Support by Teenagers and Young Adults So, I hope this gives the Member assurance that the resources that we make available are legitimate. It has got its risks managed. We will continue to see how we can improve such resources.
Use of AI Chatbots for Counselling and Mental Health Support by Teenagers and Young Adults The third question on whether we will support any studies to measure the outcomes, like I said, these resources were just started just about a year or so ago. We will see over time how we can collect data and then, analyse the impact of some of these interventions we put in the public domain, to make sure that we have a better insight on how to enhance them. [Please refer to "Clarification by Senior Minister of State for Health", Official Report, 27 February 2026, Vol 96, Issue 21, Correction By Written Statement section.]
Data on Individuals Granted Permanent Residency under Global Investor Programme 3 Mr Fadli Fawzi asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry from 2015 to 2025 (a) how many individuals have been granted permanent residency under the Global Investor Programme (GIP) with a breakdown by the investment options; and (b) what is the cumulative investment from these GIP permanent residents with a breakdown by (i) industry sector and (ii) GIP-select funds.
Data on Individuals Granted Permanent Residency under Global Investor Programme Mr Speaker, the Global Investor Programme (GIP) accords Permanent Resident (PR) status to eligible global investors who make significant investments to drive business growth in Singapore.
Data on Individuals Granted Permanent Residency under Global Investor Programme Currently, qualified investors may apply through one of the following options: (a) invest at least $10 million in a new or existing Singapore-based business entity; (b) invest at least $25 million in a GIP-select fund that invests in Singapore-based companies; or (c) establish a Singapore-based Single Family Office with at least $200 million in Assets-Under-Management, where at least $50 million must be deployed in the Economic Development Board (EDB)-specified investments.
Data on Individuals Granted Permanent Residency under Global Investor Programme From 2015 to 2025, around 450 individuals were accorded permanent residency through the GIP. The distribution across options (a), (b) and (c) is approximately 50%, 40% and 10% respectively.
Data on Individuals Granted Permanent Residency under Global Investor Programme Over the same period, about $500 million was invested directly in new or existing Singapore-based business entities. More than half of these investments were in the Professional Services, Info-Communications and Financial Services sub-sectors. Another $430 million was placed in GIP funds that invest in Singapore-based companies.
Data on Individuals Granted Permanent Residency under Global Investor Programme Mr Fadli Fawzi.
Data on Individuals Granted Permanent Residency under Global Investor Programme Thank you for the answer. I have three supplementary questions. Firstly, what is the proportion of GIP PRs that have subsequently applied for and obtained Singapore citizenship, and what is the retention rate for GIP PRs over the same period?
Data on Individuals Granted Permanent Residency under Global Investor Programme The second question is: what is the percentage of GIP PRs whose re-entry permits have lapsed or were not renewed after five years due to business milestones not being met?
Data on Individuals Granted Permanent Residency under Global Investor Programme And the third question is, after the changes introduced to the GIP in 2023 – for example, increase in the minimum investment quantum – has the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) observed any change in the volume or profile of the GIP applicants, and how has this affected the business environment for local small and medium enterprises?
Data on Individuals Granted Permanent Residency under Global Investor Programme Mr Speaker, I thank Mr Fadli for the supplementary questions. I do not have on hand the figures on the number of PRs, or the proportion of PRs under the GIP scheme who subsequently applied for Singapore Citizenship, nor do I have the data on the retention of these investors as PRs.
Data on Individuals Granted Permanent Residency under Global Investor Programme Subsequently, I invite Mr Fadli to file further Parliamentary Questions for that. But I would like to share that EDB works with the GIP recipients to ensure that they continue to fulfil the Government's specified economic and residency commitments during their stay. And GIP PRs are required to submit evidence of the Singapore-based companies that they have invested in. EDB will also conduct visits to these companies to assess the company's business activities.
Data on Individuals Granted Permanent Residency under Global Investor Programme Only GIP PRs who meet both economic and residency commitments under GIP will subsequently have their so-called re-entry permit renewed for a further five-year period.
Data on Individuals Granted Permanent Residency under Global Investor Programme Mr Yip Hon Weng —
Data on Individuals Granted Permanent Residency under Global Investor Programme Also, for the question from Mr Fadli on the changes that were made to the scheme in 2023, whether we have since then seen a change in the profile and the volume of applicants for this scheme – since the scheme has been reviewed quite recently, we are not seeing a major change in the profile yet. In fact, I would say that prior to 2023, the GIP funds comprised mainly of local funds, and also the select funds were subsequently introduced. The applicants who have selected to invest under the GIP select funds are still going through the application process and have yet to confirm on their investments.
Data on Individuals Granted Permanent Residency under Global Investor Programme Apologies to you, Minister of State Gan. Mr Yip Hon Weng.
Proportion of Social Service Agencies Paying Employees According to Social Service Sector Salary Guidelines 4 Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Minister for Social and Family Development in respect of the NCSS Social Service Sector Salary Guidelines (a) what is the percentage of social service agencies currently paying their employees in accordance with these recommendations; and (b) what specific measures are being taken to support the other agencies which have not met the salary guidelines to close the wage gap.
Proportion of Social Service Agencies Paying Employees According to Social Service Sector Salary Guidelines Mr Speaker, currently, about 80% of employees in social service agencies (SSAs) are paid according to the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) Sector Skills and Salary Guidelines, which I will call "salary guidelines" from now on.
Proportion of Social Service Agencies Paying Employees According to Social Service Sector Salary Guidelines Over the years, the Ministry for Social and Family Development (MSF) has reviewed and raised the salary guidelines so that wages in the social service sector remain competitive against comparable roles in competing markets. Correspondingly, MSF adjusts programme funding to enable funded SSAs to pay employees according to the latest guidelines. SSAs should also review and adjust their operational budgets, so they can sustainably meet operational needs. Our data suggests that SSAs have generally been keeping pace with these updates to the salary guidelines.
Proportion of Social Service Agencies Paying Employees According to Social Service Sector Salary Guidelines Over the past three years, MSF and NCSS have worked with SSAs to progressively improve adherence to the salary guidelines. Beyond current efforts, such as supporting SSAs in enhancing their human resources (HR) practices, we engage SSA leaders on their organisations' salary adherence and benchmark them to their peers. In the next few years, we will further step up measures to increase adherence.
Proportion of Social Service Agencies Paying Employees According to Social Service Sector Salary Guidelines Mr Yip.
Proportion of Social Service Agencies Paying Employees According to Social Service Sector Salary Guidelines Thank you, Mr Speaker. I thank the Minister for his response. I have two supplementary questions. Has MSF studied the relationship between wage non-compliance and staff turnover, vacancy rates or case load pressures? Because these issues as a whole, may cause workforce instability, which may in turn pose a risk to service delivery to beneficiaries.
Proportion of Social Service Agencies Paying Employees According to Social Service Sector Salary Guidelines And secondly, how is MSF ensuring that smaller community-based SSAs are not disproportionately affected, given that they may have a weaker fundraising capability compared to the larger agencies?
Proportion of Social Service Agencies Paying Employees According to Social Service Sector Salary Guidelines We thank the Member for the supplementary questions. We have not done any correlation or impact study on wage adherence with turnover. But certainly, case load has a strong impact on possible turnover; and it is something that we always are mindful of, and we make sure that the case load and the funding and the number of social workers that each programme needs would be commensurate.
Proportion of Social Service Agencies Paying Employees According to Social Service Sector Salary Guidelines Of course, we will listen to the ground when there are specific areas which need more resources or more intents by nature of the locality. We will then support, perhaps even a bespoke way.
Proportion of Social Service Agencies Paying Employees According to Social Service Sector Salary Guidelines For smaller communities, certainly, they have overheads, like every other SSAs, but they may have a smaller programme funding possibility. And therefore we are engaging them regularly to make sure that they are keeping up and also can tap on a number of resources that are available to upgrade, improve HR practices, for example, and even tap on expertise, which may be available for free from corporates who provide them as part of their pro bono services, or part of their corporate social responsibility services.
Proposal to Measure Developments based on Biodiversity Improvement Score 5 Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong asked the Minister for National Development whether the Government has considered complementing LUSH 3.0's focus on greenery provision with a biodiversity metric that measures net ecological gain or loss, similar to the UK’s Biodiversity Net Gain framework, so that developments are assessed not only by how green they appear but by whether they result in a measurable improvement in biodiversity.
Proposal to Measure Developments based on Biodiversity Improvement Score Sir, the Landscaping for Urban Spaces and High-Rises (LUSH) programme integrates green spaces into our urban environment through a mix of planning requirements and incentives.
Proposal to Measure Developments based on Biodiversity Improvement Score Under LUSH, developers must provide replacement greenery within new developments, which can be up to 40% of the development site area in some cases. Since its inception in 2009, LUSH has supported the implementation of over 440 hectares of greenery, which is more than the size of 600 football fields. This supports biodiversity, enhances liveability and mitigates urban heat.
Proposal to Measure Developments based on Biodiversity Improvement Score Despite our land constraints, we are committed to enhancing biodiversity even as we undertake developments to meet different land use needs for our people, such as housing, education, healthcare, transport and jobs. For example, we are safeguarding more green spaces, establishing additional nature parks, restoring core habitats and conducting species recovery for rare, threatened and endemic species. These efforts work in tandem with LUSH to improve biodiversity in Singapore.
Proposal to Measure Developments based on Biodiversity Improvement Score We are mindful not to adopt practices in other countries without first understanding their suitability for our local context. We assess that our balanced and coordinated approach to enhancing biodiversity can achieve better outcomes for Singapore, compared to the United Kingdom's (UK's) Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) framework approach of imposing biodiversity targets on individual development projects.
Proposal to Measure Developments based on Biodiversity Improvement Score Mr Tan.
Proposal to Measure Developments based on Biodiversity Improvement Score Thank you, Mr Speaker. I have three supplementary questions. First, I thank the Minister of State for his reply. My first supplementary question, will the Ministry of National Development (MND) consider complementing the green plot ratio with an indicator that reflects ecological value, such as the use of native species or support for urban wildlife, by mandating a native biodiversity score, so that our green spaces contribute to quality greenery and biodiversity to beyond visual amenity, and in the case of LUSH, to discourage ornamental plants with lower ecological value?
Proposal to Measure Developments based on Biodiversity Improvement Score My second supplementary question, the UK's framework requires a mandatory 10% biodiversity net gain for new developments. Has MND considered adopting a similar quantitative baseline in the interest of transparency and accountability? I believe that with a measurable net-gain target, it can better assist MND to ensure that our City in Nature vision is maintaining or improving functional habitats over time.
Proposal to Measure Developments based on Biodiversity Improvement Score My third supplementary question, the Ecological Profiling Exercise (EPE) identifies critical stepping stones for wildlife, but many LUSH-compliant developments remain isolated in green islands rather than contagious green linkages. Has MND considered more explicitly aligning existing programmes, like LUSH, more directly to EPE-identified priority corridors, so that developments in these locations contribute to strengthening ecological connectivity beyond isolated green plots?
Proposal to Measure Developments based on Biodiversity Improvement Score Sir, I thank Mr Dennis Tan for his commitment to working together with MND and the National Parks Board (NParks) in pursuing our City in Nature vision. And we have discussed this multiple times, so thank you for working together with us first.
Proposal to Measure Developments based on Biodiversity Improvement Score Let me touch on the UK's BNG framework and also look into how it has its own fair share of limitations. In fact, I did some study last night and the UK developers have cited the BNG as costly and also imposing delays to building homes for UK citizens. The UK government in itself has also proposed rollbacks to the BNG, because it is impacting their ability to build homes.
Proposal to Measure Developments based on Biodiversity Improvement Score Even the UK, with their larger land sizes, has difficulty building their homes and are reviewing this, so I think we need to exercise caution when thinking about applying that to our context.
Proposal to Measure Developments based on Biodiversity Improvement Score And in that regard, I also wanted to take a larger holistic view on how we are safeguarding biodiversity. The LUSH project, now in its third iteration, is just a one part of our overall strategy to enhance and to preserve biodiversity in Singapore.
Proposal to Measure Developments based on Biodiversity Improvement Score I mentioned earlier on my Parliamentary Question reply that we have also safeguarded 7,800 hectares of green spaces and will establish additional nature parks, restore core habitats, conduct species recovery for rare, threatened and endemic species. This is a holistic approach towards enhancing biodiversity, in addition to what we are doing with LUSH, which is a downstream measure, and it is in aim to build and incorporate livability into our urban spaces.
Proposal to Measure Developments based on Biodiversity Improvement Score In that regard, I thought it is also being very, very helpful for us to give a concrete example about this. In Chencharu, Yishun, for example, we are balancing development together with biodiversity. And this illustrates the point that I am trying to make. In that project, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) has worked with biodiversity experts and the nature groups on the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the Yishun Chencharu Build-To-Order flats to enhance nature planting, and also to build in advance and then implement an environmental monitoring management plan to design green spaces and linear parks.
Proposal to Measure Developments based on Biodiversity Improvement Score And in that regard also, we have worked very closely with our nature groups and environmental efforts. So, I also wanted to take this opportunity to also respond to Member He Ting Ru's point on Wednesday about our engagements with nature groups being one-sided. That is not true, because we work with our nature groups very extensively. I met with them even on Valentine's Day last month. And I worked with Dr Shawn Lum, for example, on the Nature Society Singapore. In this particular Yishun Chencharu project, Dr Shawn Lum has offered his expertise to co-create planting palette with HDB.
Proposal to Measure Developments based on Biodiversity Improvement Score I appreciate the Member's suggestion in looking at external examples, but I think that is not quite appropriate to Singapore's context. We have a larger, more holistic, more coordinated approach to enhancing biodiversity. I thank him for his continued work with us in pursuing this very important mission.
Proposal to Measure Developments based on Biodiversity Improvement Score Let us squeeze in one more last Parliamentary Question. Ms Elysa Chen.
10.34 am 6 Ms Elysa Chen asked the Coordinating Minister for Social Policies and Minister for Health whether there are plans to strengthen and resource peer support structures for mental health in community settings and workplaces, including training, supervision and safeguards for peer supporters so that early help is more accessible while ensuring that peer supporters are not over-burdened or placed in situations beyond their competencies.
10.34 am Sir, the Health Promotion Board (HPB) offers peer support training for institutes of higher learning (IHLs), workplaces and community groups. Participants are trained to recognise peers in distress, provide active listening and guide them to seek help early. Peer supporters also learn to practise self-care and may seek help through their own organisations' Employee Assistance Programmes or counselling services.
10.34 am From this year onwards, HPB's peer supporter training will be available in a hybrid format and offer additional modules to enhance training. Additionally, the National Council of Social Service's (NCSS') peer support specialist programme trains persons with lived experiences to support others on their recovery journeys.
10.34 am The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council have established the Well-being Champions Network to provide workplace-appointed Champions with the necessary resources and training to better support their organisations in promoting workplace mental health well-being.
10.34 am The Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) also offers online mental health awareness modules to better equip frontliners to help persons with mental health needs navigate the service landscape.
10.34 am But I must say that these resources we put forth for peer support and peer support itself, is only one prong of the scaffolding we are wrapping around persons with mental health needs. In addition to some of these peer support measures that we are doing, the Member will also realise from what I shared earlier in the earlier Parliamentary Question, that we have platforms, such as MindSG.gov.sg and mindline.sg, that provide the public with useful mental health information and resources.
10.34 am Ultimately, peer support is meant as a scaffold to support the greater needs of the community. They are not meant to carry the burden of mental health care that the professionals should be doing. I think if a peer supporter feels that there is something beyond which his or her competency can handle, then I think these resources we put forth, like mindline.sg, can be useful referral points for the peer supporter to guide the person in need, to access these resources where they can receive more in-depth counselling and subsequent referral to relevant care needs, at higher acuity of care.
10.34 am Ms Chen, actually, we are out of time, but I will allow you a very short supplementary question.
10.34 am Thank you so much. I thank the Senior Minister of State for the answers as well. I wanted to ask whether the Ministry will consider more deliberately integrating peer support structures into the tiered care model for mental health, so that peer supporters in the community and workplaces are clearly recognised as part of the national mental health ecosystem with defined roles, referral pathways and outcome indicators.
10.34 am I ask this because many times they are the first line of defence, and HR or a trusted adult or a peer can be someone who can make a difference.
10.34 am Secondly, I would like to ask if the Ministry intends to ensure that strengthen peer support structures are accessible to groups who may be less likely to seek help through formal services, such as older adults, caregivers and persons in lower wage or more precarious forms of employment, and whether targeted outreach or tailored peer support initiatives will be developed for this for these groups?
10.34 am Senior Minister of State Koh, I hope you will oblige with a short answer.
10.34 am Thank you, Sir. Sir, on the Member's first question whether peer supporters should be actually part of the formal network care. As I said in my reply, peer support is meant to be an informal scaffold around formal levels of support and I think we should not put a burden on them to be part of the formalised care structure. But they form a wider community of support around those with needs to help to guide them to the relevant resources that they can seek formal help for.
10.34 am And the second question on what to do with the harder to reach population, that indeed is a big challenge. Because mental health is pretty much a silent disease. There is no external manifestation that you can see from far away. And so, the focus for us would be to increase education and also to put forth our community care teams, so that those with needs in the community, especially the harder to reach ones, if we know who they are, we can then find a way to reach out to them and encourage them to step forward and seek care.
10.34 am Order. End of Question Time. The Clerk will now proceed to read the Orders of the Day.