Hansard, Thursday, 20 October 2022

1 Ms Joan Pereira asked the Minister for Health with regard to the bivalent COVID-19 vaccines (a) when will the vaccines be made available; (b) how different is this booster vaccine from the original Moderna and Pfizer booster in terms of efficacy; and (c) when should a person who has recovered from COVID-19 take this vaccine.

Mr Speaker, Sir, my response for Question No 1 will also address the Parliamentary Question for written answer raised by Mr Leon Perera in today’s Order Paper and a similar question raised by Assoc Prof Jamus Lim1 for a future Sitting.

A couple of the questions have been overtaken by events. Nevertheless, I thought it would be useful to answer them and take some supplementary questions.

We have started using the bivalent Moderna/Spikevax vaccine on 14 October 2022, and there is another bivalent vaccine – the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty – which is expected to be available by the end of this year. Bivalent vaccines provide better protection against newer COVID-19 variants compared to the original vaccines and we recommend individuals who are eligible to take it.

We are prioritising persons aged 50 and above for the additional booster dose with the bivalent vaccine as they are at higher risk of severe disease from infection. We are planning to invite those aged between 18 and 49 for vaccination later in the year as we secure more supplies. And I hope we will secure them in a matter of weeks. Those who are eligible and have recently recovered from a COVID-19 infection are recommended to receive the bivalent vaccine three months after the infection. This is a very common question. If you are infected, wait three months and you can take the bivalent vaccine, if you are eligible.

Mr Leon Perera had asked about reopening vaccination centres at community clubs and community centres. He asked specifically for Serangoon community club. Vaccination Centres (VCs) and Joint Testing and Vaccination Centres (JTVCs) are chosen based on their proximity to high population density areas, good accessibility and availability of the venue to support vaccination operations over a sustained period of time.

Currently, we have 11 JTVCs and VCs and, together with our network of 221 participating Public Health Preparedness Clinics and 20 polyclinics, they provide sufficient convenience and access to vaccinations. But as demand changes, we will continue to review the adequacy of this network.

Ms Joan Pereira.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I thank the Minister for his reply. I have one supplementary question. Residents aged 50 and above who have already taken their second booster are not sure if they can take the bivalent vaccine and when to take it. For those aged 80 and above, many took it in April, that is, more than five months but less than a year after the second booster. For those aged 50 to 79, many took it in June, that is, less than five months of their second booster shot. Can the Minister advise?

I thank the Member for that question. It is a very common question we face on the ground. I meet so many people that I have to repeatedly answer this question. The answer is yes, five months after their second booster, they are recommended to take their bivalent vaccine.

As I had explained earlier, we have moved to a new system where we have stopped counting the number of booster shots we take. We are living with the COVID-19 virus. So, what we are recommending now is: one, please attain your minimum protection, which is, three doses of an mRNA vaccine; and two, beyond that, take an additional latest vaccine five months after your last shot and no longer than 12 months – so, five to 12 months.

Essentially, for most people, it works out to taking a booster shot every year. So, for our residents who are aged 50 and above, please advise them.

I understand there has been some confusion. Some people are mixed up over bivalent and the second booster – which all have the concept of two in it. If you use vernacular languages, some of them are even more confusing.

We are thinking of some simple publicity, simple graphics, which we intend to use advertising space to communicate and communicate clearly to the public in the next few days.

Mr Yip Hon Weng.

Thank you. I just have one supplementary question. Should a person who has multiple COVID-19 infections still take the boosters?

The answer is yes. Once you reach the booster stage, it is best to ignore your infection. Now that we have hybrid immunity from our vaccination as well as infection, there are many individuals who hardly have any response or symptoms after they are infected. So, I think it is best not to count infections. Take our boosters and take our jabs diligently.

2 Ms Joan Pereira asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what caused the power outage at Woodlands Checkpoint on 9 October 2022; (b) whether there are any data breach or losses incurred; and (c) how can such power outages be prevented.

3 Dr Tan Wu Meng asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is known regarding the root causes of the power outage at Woodlands Checkpoint on 9 October 2022, including the reasons for the reported failure of the backup power generator measures; and (b) what measures are taken to ensure resilience of Singapore's immigration checkpoints against electrical power failures.

4 Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is the cause of the failure of the backup power generator at Woodlands Checkpoint on 9 October 2022 despite having been serviced and tested the day before; and (b) what measures, including manual workarounds, does the Ministry have in place to ensure that all border checkpoints are able to continue performing their essential functions, including immigration clearance, in the event of an extended power outage.

Mr Speaker, Sir, may I have your permission to answer Question Nos 2, 3 and 4 in today’s Order Paper?

Yes, please.

Mr Speaker, my response will also cover the matters raised in the questions by Mr Shawn Huang1, which are scheduled for a subsequent Sitting. I invite the Member to seek clarifications today, if need be. If the Member feels that his questions are addressed today, it may not be necessary for him to proceed with them during the future Sitting.

Mr Speaker, on 8 October 2022, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) was conducting a scheduled maintenance of the power source at Woodlands Checkpoint at around 11.40 pm. This timing was chosen as it is, typically, an off-peak period at the checkpoint. As part of the maintenance, the back-up power generator was activated to provide power during this period. However, at 12.20 am on 9 October 2022, the back-up power generator failed, resulting in a power outage that disrupted the checkpoint operations.

The back-up power generator was maintained according to the technical specifications and assessed to be in good working condition during routine weekly and monthly checks, as well as on the day of the scheduled maintenance on 8 October 2022. A full load test on the generator had been conducted in August 2022. In the morning of 8 October 2022, it had been subjected to a 30-minute test-run and was working fine. While the back-up generator has been in operation since 1999, its usage is low. It is only operated when the building power source is undergoing maintenance or during a power failure. It is scheduled for replacement in 2028, according to the specifications.

The cause of the failure of the back-up power generator was a fresh tear in the air duct, causing hot air from the generator to be discharged into the room instead of outside the room. As the hot air re-circulated in the room, the generator engine overheated and shut down. The condition of the air duct was inspected visually and was assessed to be in good condition in the morning of 8 October 2022. As a precautionary measure, ICA will consider if the air duct should be replaced periodically in the future, even if no tears are detected.

There was no data breach or loss during the power outage. The Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) system had kicked in, as designed, and provided sufficient time for a proper shutdown of the servers, preventing any data breach or loss.

ICA has put in additional layers of redundancy to protect our operations from power disruptions. There are back-up generators for the main power source. In addition, UPS is provided for key systems to ensure operations continuity if the back-up generators fail. These systems are regularly upgraded during planned maintenance.

For an extended power failure which UPS cannot support, ICA has SOPs in place to ensure operations continuity. This includes activating additional manpower to assist with manual clearance, communicating and advising travellers via multiple channels to avoid non-essential travel and diverting traffic to the other land checkpoint. These contingency plans were activated during this incident.

Prior to this incident, ICA had already planned to further enhance power resiliency at Woodlands and Tuas Checkpoints by building a secondary electrical infrastructure, in addition to the existing one.

Mr Speaker, learning from this incident, ICA will be deploying additional generators as back-ups during future maintenance periods. We will share the lessons learnt from this incident with stakeholders of other critical infrastructure.

Mr Shawn Huang.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I have got two supplementary questions. First, how was immigration clearance conducted during the power outrage? Second, why was it necessary to divert traffic to the Tuas Checkpoint?

Sir, I thank the Member for the supplementary questions. ICA implemented the contingency immigration clearance process, which involves the officers taking down the travellers' details and then, performing back-end security screening, creating the travel records using what we have recorded.

As the clearance rate using the contingency process was significantly slower, an operational decision was made to clear vehicles and travellers who were already on the Causeway travelling towards Woodlands Checkpoint or within the Checkpoint; while ICA worked with the Malaysian authorities to divert the inbound vehicles that had yet to enter the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) Complex. So, we diverted those who had not entered the CIQ to the Second Link.

For the outbound vehicles on the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) and Woodlands crossings, they were diverted to the Second Link.

We feel that if this was not done, the traffic jam at the Woodlands Checkpoint would have worsened and caused inconvenience to even more travellers.

Mr Gerald Giam.

Mr Speaker, I wish to thank the ICA officers for the hard work that they do under very trying conditions to clear, sometimes, more than 400,000 travellers per day through the checkpoints, every day. I am sure the individual officers are doing their very best and their work is very much appreciated.

However, I would like to ask the Minister of State if there are systemic bottlenecks that ICA can look into to tackle the long waiting times at our land checkpoints. If there are 300,000 travellers a day and each takes one and a half hours to clear immigration, that is 450,000 manhours of productive time lost every day. One observation by travellers is that, sometimes, not all the immigration counters for vehicles are open. I understand, because of limited manpower, ICA dynamically deploys officers to counters in busier zones, leaving counters closed in another zone.

Can I ask the Minister of State, then – can ICA prioritise its recruitment and training of more officers so that all car counters are manned to clear travellers in all zones? And secondly, can ICA increase the number of automated clearance counters for vehicles, especially motorcycles, to relieve some dependence on manned counters?

Sir, I thank the Member for the supplementary questions. These are issues that we continuously look at and which we also train our officers for regularly. In fact, while we were preparing for the reopening and easing of travel, these were things we were doing with our officers.

I want to assure the Member that we are continuing with this process of continuously looking at how to improve how we handle the situation and how we run the operations. Our officers are very committed to doing this because they understand the needs of the people, especially when they are travelling and especially during the peak periods.

Ms Joan Pereira.

Ms Joan Pereira (Tanjong Pagar): Thank you, Speaker. I have one supplementary question. How did ICA ensure that the security of our Woodlands checkpoint was not compromised, that is, that there were no security breaches, such as any illegal or unauthorised entry into Singapore?

Sir, I thank the Member for the supplementary question. Essentially, there were no security breaches, such as illegal or unauthorised entry into Singapore, during the power outage incident.

So, what we did was that during the power outage, our Auxiliary Police Officers (APOs) worked with us and continued to man all critical security posts and access points at Woodlands Checkpoint. And these critical security posts and access points had the emergency lighting. In addition to that, we also provided APOs portable emergency lamps and they guarded these points. Also, we had more security patrols throughout the period of the outage. We are happy that there were no security breaches.

Dr Tan Wu Meng.

Mr Speaker, I thank the Minister of State for his answer. I have Clementi residents who were concerned at the news of what happened during the power outage. I have got two supplementary questions.

Firstly, would the Minister of State consider, in hindsight, that the generator in use at the time constituted a single point of vulnerability? Because when a back-up generator is deployed as the main ongoing power supply, it is no longer a back-up system.

Secondly, can the Minister of State advise the House on whether there will be a dedicated after action review (AAR), incorporating red team analysis of modes of vulnerability for our key infrastructure at checkpoints and that this will also look at areas, such as cyber risk, electrical supply risk, as well as network cable connectivity risk? Because a system may be compromised through many different possibilities and we have to secure our key infrastructure and checkpoints.

Sir, I thank the Member for the supplementary questions. Yes, we will have the AAR to be undertaken. The risks that were highlighted by the Member are things that we look at, as part of our business continuity plan. In order to do that, agencies work with the critical infrastructure stakeholders and we do have monthly drills that not only look at the issue of power outages. We look at issues that affect our security and incidents that may go beyond power outages. I thank the Member for reminding us on this aspect.

And about the generators, to prevent a recurrence of that incident, ICA will deploy additional generators as further buffers to the existing back-up generators for all subsequent scheduled maintenance work. And, in fact, prior to this incident, ICA had already planned to enhance the power resiliency at Woodlands and Tuas Checkpoints by building a secondary electrical infrastructure by 2028. The works will be carried out in phases because of the complexity of the nature of the works and we also want to carefully plan it, so that we can minimise disruption to ICA's ongoing operations.

5 Mr Alex Yam asked the Minister for National Development with the recent announcement of further cooling measures for the property sector (a) how many Singaporeans are estimated to be affected by the 15-month wait-out period for a resale HDB flat; (b) what assistance may be provided to those who are caught out by circumstances but may genuinely require housing urgently; and (c) how will the new measures cool the property market.

6 Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin asked the Minister for National Development (a) for the past three years, what has been the number of HDB resale flat transactions involving buyers who are private property owners (PPOs) or PPOs who have disposed of a private property prior to submitting an application to buy a HDB resale flat; and (b) of such buyers, what is the percentage of purchasers who paid cash over valuation and who are above 55 years old.

Mr Speaker, Sir, Mr Alex Yam and Ms Nadia Samdin asked the questions about the impact of recent cooling measures. Mr Saktiandi Supaat1 had also asked a related question for the Sitting on or after 21 October 2022. So, with your permission, Sir, may I take these three questions together?

Yes, please.

Thank you, Sir. Mr Speaker, the public housing market has been buoyant since the first quarter of 2020. The HDB resale price index, or RPI, had declined by 9.9% over five years, between 2014 and 2018, and remained flat in 2019. The increase in resale HDB flat prices during the last two years of the pandemic reflects broad-based demand for housing, supported by the previously low interest rate environment.

In December 2021, the Government announced a package of measures to cool the private residential and HDB resale markets, including tightening the loan-to-value, or LTV limit, for loans from HDB.

In the immediate quarters, following the implementation of these measures, the HDB resale price index reflected a lower increase of 2.4% in 1Q2022, and 2.8% in 2Q2022, compared to 3.4% in 4Q2021. The Government has been watching the property market closely.

Sustained property price increases, if left unchecked, could run ahead of our economic fundamentals and increase the risk of a destabilising correction later, which will adversely impact many existing home owners.

On 29 September 2022, HDB announced further measures to, first, encourage home buyers to exercise greater financial prudence when taking home loans, as higher interest rates were expected over the medium term; and second, to moderate demand in the HDB resale market.

We expect these measures to slow the pace of HDB resale price increases, but we will continue to monitor the housing market closely.

One of the measures that we have implemented is the 15-month wait-out period before current and former private residential property owners can buy a non-subsidised HDB resale flat, that means, without taking the CPF housing grant.

Mr Alex Yam asked how this measure will help to cool the HDB resale market. The 15-month wait-out period is a temporary measure to moderate demand for resale flats and help to prioritise access to affordable public housing for Singaporeans with more urgent housing needs, such as first-time home buyers.

We will review this measure after monitoring overall demand and market conditions. To be clear, the 15-month wait-out period is a new measure for those buying resale flats without grant. There is an existing long-standing measure for private property owners buying HDB resale flats with grant, and they have to wait out 30 months. This measure, the long-standing measure, has been in place since 1975.

Members have asked about the number of private property owners who may be affected by this new wait-out period. The number of private property owners buying HDB resale flats has doubled in 2021 and the first three quarters of this year, compared to 2019 and 2020.

This group, which includes those who had sold their private property up to 15 months before their resale flat application, accounts for about one in 10 resale flat buyers in the past three years.

Proportionately, more current and former private property owners pay COV, or Cash-Over-Valuation, compared to other resale flat buyers, and they also pay higher COV amounts. This is, generally, because many of these private property owners have more financial means to pay for their resale flats, compared to first-time flat buyers or HDB upgraders. Some may not even need to take housing loans to complete their flat purchase.

Mr Alex Yam asked about the assistance provided to home seekers who own or have recently disposed of, their private property, but who urgently need housing support. Indeed, we recognise that not all private property owners are in exactly the same situation and not all have the same financial means. And that is why, to support this group, we had introduced two measures when we made this move to introduce the new wait-out period.

First, we exempted seniors who are moving from private property to a 4-room or smaller resale flat from the wait-out period, if both the senior and his spouse are 55 years old and above. This helps our seniors right-size their homes and improve their retirement adequacy. These seniors make up about three in 10 of the private property owners who had bought resale HDB flats in the past three years. Of these seniors, slightly less than one in five also paid a COV when buying a resale flat. So, that is the first – the exemption for seniors.

Second, regardless of their age, current and former private property owners who face extenuating circumstances can approach HDB for assistance and we will assess their situation on a case-by-case basis. Pursuant to this, HDB received some 650 appeals since the wait-out period was introduced. Two hundred and twenty of these home seekers had obtained an Option to Purchase (OTP) to buy an HDB resale flat before the wait-out period was put in place. For these home seekers, HDB has exercised flexibility and waived the 15-month wait-out period for all of them.

A second group of home seekers are those who have not obtained an OTP to buy an HDB resale flat, but who may have committed to sell or have recently sold their existing private property. HDB will assess these appeals on a case-by-case basis.

Mr Saktiandi Supaat asked about the possible impact of this move on the HDB resale market. As I explained earlier, the aim of this move is to moderate demand from private property owners cashing out and going to the HDB resale market, in order to give priority to first time home buyers, particularly during this period.

We will, however, consider the prevailing economic and market conditions, including the impact of the 15-month wait-out period, as we plan our half-yearly Government Land Sale (GLS) supply for private housing.

We have already increased the supply of private housing on the confirmed list of the GLS programme by 75%, from about 3,600 units in 2021, to around 6,300 units in 2022. We are prepared to increase the GLS supply further if needed. The Government will continue to monitor the housing market conditions and act decisively, but also carefully, to ensure the stability of the wider Singapore property market and to keep public housing inclusive, affordable and accessible to Singaporeans.

Mr Alex Yam.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I have one supplementary question for the Minister. With regard to one of the two exceptions, for those who are 55 years old and above, there is an exception made for them to purchase 4-room flats and lower, I would like to ask the Minister if MND believes that this may inadvertently also drive up prices in the smaller flat-size market – because, I think, the figure that was quoted earlier was three in 10 are in this category. Therefore, do MND and HDB see that there might be a rise in demand for the smaller flat types?

Ultimately, I think the cooling measures are important and I think it bears reiterating that MND remains committed to providing Singaporeans with affordable and attainable homes over the longer term.

Mr Speaker, Sir, as I said earlier, the intention of this wait-out period is to moderate demand from those who are existing or former private property owners. The private property market has gone up, an increasing number appear to have sold their private properties and to move into HDB flats. For seniors, we recognise that many of them want to do this in order to enhance their retirement adequacy – they want to right-size, they want to manage their financial situation as they go into retirement. So, we made this carve-out for our seniors. And as for why it is a 4-room flat and smaller, if your aim is to prepare for retirement and to enhance your retirement adequacy, then going to a smaller flat will give our seniors even more financial space, as they right-size from a private property to a smaller flat.

As I have said earlier, the private property owners or former private property owners moving into the HDB resale market make up about one in 10 of resale flat buyers over the last three years and, out of that group, seniors make up a smaller portion of that. So, three in 10 of that one in 10 are seniors above the age of 55 and, so, they are a smaller subset of the private property owners moving into the HDB resale market. Therefore, we will continue to watch and monitor the property market carefully and monitor the effects of the moves that we have made.

Mr Saktiandi Supaat.

I would like to thank the Minister for his answers to my Parliamentary Question, which is slated for the next Sitting. I just have two supplementary questions, Speaker. One is, the Minister mentioned that there will be an enhancement, potentially, in terms of land sales for supply of flats, going forward. This would be in relation to my question about how the reduction of supply of private property in the market could drive HDB upgraders to splurge on resale flats.

So, my first question is, to what extent will that land sale lead to further increases in resale flats and what type of resale flats could that possibly be?

My second supplementary question is, with the higher interest rate environment, will there be significant impact in the context of this current environment to impact certain demographics, for example, like what the previous Member had mentioned about seniors, but also young individuals or young families? Will the high interest rates lead to further impact on them, going forward, into buying these resale flats?

I thank the Member for the two supplementary questions. The Member was concerned whether this wait-out period, which aims to moderate demand for resale flats by putting a wait-out period for private property owners coming into the resale market through the wait-out period; his concern is whether that would potentially reduce the supply of private properties on the private resale market and, hence, cause HDB upgraders who are actually wanting to buy those units, to then buy a bigger HDB resale flat and then exacerbating the condition.

HDB upgraders, firstly, I think, some of them will have an intention to upgrade from HDB to private property. So, that is first. You cannot rule out that some HDB upgraders will, of course, want to upgrade to a larger HDB flat. So, every HDB upgrader will have their own objectives and their own aspirations. But be that as it may, HDB upgraders will continue to have a wide range of options, which include HDB flats of varying sizes and across various locations, as well as new and existing private properties.

As I have said earlier, the Government has also ramped up the supply of new BTO flats and increased the supply of private housing on both the confirmed list as well as the GLS programme by some 75%, from 3,600 units last year to 6,300 this year, and we will continue to see whether we may need to make some adjustments if needed.

The Member also asked whether the higher interest rate environment will have a differential impact on different groups. Certainly. With the concern or the potential for higher interest rates in the medium term, MAS and HDB, therefore, took precautionary measures of a macroprudential nature by increasing, for MAS, the private financial institution rate floor ceiling for the taking of housing loans for residential housing and for HDB to institute a 3% floor for HDB loans. And, of course, we adjusted the loan-to-value, in order to protect home buyers who need to leverage and take loans in order to buy. But there is also an impact on existing home owners who were servicing their loans. Some of them are on fixed interest rates and the banks have mostly stopped these fixed interest rate plans for residential properties.

Then, the groups that are on adjustable interest rate loans, some come with a time lag, some follow the market and market interest rates immediately and some take HDB loans. For HDB, the interest rate remains at 2.6%. So, obviously, for these different groups, they will feel the impact either at different times or immediately. And, therefore, this will impact the groups differently. In terms of their outlay, they will have to stump up more in order to service their monthly mortgages.

Mr Dennis Tan.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Just one supplementary question for the Minister. Would the Government consider exempting Singaporeans with genuine financial difficulties from the effect of the property cooling measures? The reason I am saying this is because these people may have difficulty servicing their existing loans for their condos, they may have existing debt issues arising from their own other financial obligations and they have no choice but to dispose of their current private property and they need a place to stay, they need a place to live. So, they need to buy an HDB property and they may not be able to afford commercial rental.

Indeed, this group of Singaporeans who are affected financially can approach HDB. As I said, there are two exemption measures. One would be for seniors, the other would be for any Singaporeans with extenuating circumstances, regardless of age. They can approach HDB and we will see how to help them. So, if the Member has come across any of them, please let us know.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh.

Thank you. I would like to seek a clarification from the Minister. There is a wait-out period of 15 months; so, will there be an impact on the rental market because these residents probably will have to find HDB flats for rental? As a result, this might drive up the rental prices.

Certainly, those who own an existing private property and intend to wait out that period would find alternative accommodation, either to reside with family or rent. So, there will be those choices that will have to be made because of the implementation of this new measure. At the same time, it may also cause private property owners who are not seniors waiting to retire or, as Member Dennis Tan had mentioned, people who have financial situation. If they are thinking about whether to make this move now, this might cause them to postpone their decision. It achieves the effect also of moderating demand for resale flats at this time and gives priority to first-time home buyers who may be looking to the resale market for their first home.

7 Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng asked the Minister for National Development to encourage marriage and parenthood, whether the Government will consider (i) advance construction of more HDB BTO projects to shorten the waiting period of first-time applicants and (ii) extension of the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme to couples awaiting their BTO flats and whose household income is between $7,000 and $14,000, instead of only to those earning $7,000 and below.

8 Ms Foo Mee Har asked the Minister for National Development what specific measures can the Government implement to shorten the waiting time for new HDB BTO projects to less than three years going forward.

Mr Speaker, may I take Question Nos 7 and 8 on today's Order Paper together, as both relate to Build-to-Order (BTO) flats with shorter waiting times?

Please do.

Thank you, Sir. Since 2018, HDB has been offering BTO flats in some projects with shorter waiting times of around three years or less. This is achieved by bringing forward the construction works for specific sites that are ready for development. To date, close to 11,000 BTO flats with shorter waiting times have been offered, of which around 7,200 were offered between 2020 and 2022, that is, during the pandemic.

The pipeline of shorter waiting time flats has been impacted during the pandemic due to construction delays and disruptions as well as higher BTO demand.

To meet the strong housing demand, HDB has ramped up the supply of BTO flats to 23,000 flats per year in 2022 and 2023, or a 35% increase from last year, and is also prepared to launch up to 100,000 new flats from 2021 to 2025, if needed. Where possible, we also endeavour to launch more BTO projects with shorter waiting times, subject to site and infrastructure readiness.

While waiting for the completion of their new flats, most flat buyers continue to stay with family members or relatives, or rent on the open market. The Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (PPHS) provides an additional temporary housing option for eligible households.

Given the limited supply of PPHS flats, the income ceiling of $7,000 was introduced in August 2021, along with some other criteria, to prioritise those who are less able to afford renting on the open market. The income ceiling of $7,000 is pegged to the typical income ceiling for 3-room BTO flats in the non-mature estates. It is also well above the median monthly household income of PPHS applicants, which was $5,700 before the income ceiling was introduced and $4,400 in the past year since the income ceiling was put in place.

While we are on track to double the supply of interim flats for PPHS between 2021 and 2023, the supply remains limited. As such, we will retain the income ceiling so as to continue prioritising those who are less able to afford renting on the open market.

Households whose incomes exceed the $7,000 ceiling but who need help with temporary housing due to exceptional circumstances, such as high medical expenses or other needs, may approach HDB. HDB will consider their requests on a case-by-case basis.

Ms Denise Phua.

I thank the Minister. My questions are directed towards promoting the national objective of marriage and parenthood. Would MND consider, one, a different type of BTO, a "Build-then-Order", instead of Build-to-Order scheme, so that flats can be built in advance for registered married couples, for example, applying for the first time, in order to encourage marriage and parenthood?

I know that building in advance creates stock inventory and it might be costly, but if we could ringfence this for marriage and parenthood, on which the nation is already spending quite a bit of money, it might be well worth it. So, that is my first supplementary question.

My second supplementary question is whether the Minister would consider helping young couples beyond the "between $7,000 and $14,000" bracket, which is the eligibility for applying BTO flats, to help them get a rental flat on an interim basis. This is, again, based on what we know about the market that many young couples are renting flats before they get their BTOs. If they live with their parents, they might also be delaying parenthood. So, again, all the questions are directed towards promoting marriage and parenthood. For consideration, please.

Mr Speaker, the Member asked for a "Build-then-Order" model. In fact, I have just described the shorter waiting time model which has been in place since 2018, where we launch construction and then launch the project. So, as a result, applicants can get their flat under three years. The construction disruptions and delays during COVID-19 had affected some of that pipeline. Nevertheless, as I have said, even during COVID-19, we launched some 7,200 shorter waiting time flats from 2020 to 2022. We will work towards launching more of such shorter waiting time flats, with waiting times of three years or less, subject to site and infrastructure readiness. That is something we are committed to do.

But in addition to that, we have the Sale of Balance Flats exercise and the Open Booking of Flats exercise by HDB, and, of course, resale flats, which are available with grants for eligible buyers. And at this point in time, while resale prices have gone up, with measures to moderate demand, we hope to manage the price increases in the resale market as well to ensure affordability for first-time home buyers.

As for the Member's request to raise or remove the income ceiling for PPHS, I have explained earlier why we need to maintain this for the time being. Demand has been high, particularly because of the construction delays caused by COVID-19. We recognise that there are housing needs – HDB is prepared, even if the income ceiling is above $7,000, to look at individual circumstances to see how we can help them.

We will double the supply of PPHS flats by the end of this year and early next year. But supply remains limited. We have been using some of the SERS units, some of the unsold units, we have also taken some rental flats – and you see there is a trade-off there – we have also taken over staff apartments from the Polytechnics and repurposed them for PPHS during this period.

So, to provide support for those who may have even greater difficulty affording rental in the interim, we maintain the income ceiling as well as the priority for married couples with children below the age of 18.

Ms Foo Mee Har.

Thank you, Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister two supplementary questions. The Minister just alluded to HDB's attempt to complete within three years. Can the Minister give some guidance exactly what percentage of future launches will likely fall within the three-year timeframe, just so to give us a guidance?

Secondly, given the increasing risks around supply chain disruptions due to geopolitical tensions, I would like to ask the Minister to comment about the strategies the Government would adopt to build stockpiles of building materials to avoid delays and how the Government intends to buffer against price variations.

I thank the Member for her questions. HDB's mission remains the same even through COVID-19 and even as we continue to deal with the after-effects on the construction sector and on development of properties in general arising from the last two years' pandemic. In fact, to ensure affordability and accessibility, we have been doing a couple of things.

Firstly, by increasing subsidies to ensure that BTO flat prices remain stable, even amidst the property price increases across the board.

Secondly, we have been ramping up the supply of flats, as mentioned, the ramp-up of BTO supply between 2021 and 2025 of 100,000 flats, if necessary.

Thirdly, in August this year, we channelled an even greater percentage of the BTO stock towards first-timer home buyers. We have also put in property cooling measures to moderate demand in the resale market.

Lastly, of course, is tackling the issue of construction delays. HDB has been working very closely with the contractors and their supply chain to manage overall construction delays and there has been progress made on that front. We need to expedite construction, but will do so safely and without compromising the quality of flats.

The Member alluded to supply chain disruptions. In fact, in the last two years, HDB and all developers and contractors have been affected by supply chain disruptions because a lot of materials come from abroad – construction material, parts and even manpower to help us construct. And during the pandemic and emerging from COVID-19, HDB continues to work very closely with our contractors, helping them to obtain the manpower that is necessary, helping them to stabilise prices of steel and concrete through HDB's schemes to support the contractors, and working very hard with our local supply chain to ensure greater domestic resilience, whether by stockpiling offsite, stockpiling in Singapore or working more closely with our prefabrication plants to have the capability to churn out more components for HDB flats. Through standardisation and good design, we can achieve that.

Recently, in the HDB awards, I announced more efforts by HDB to try out new methods of construction that will allow it to drive even greater productivity and, hence, be more resilient to supply chain disruptions that may come in the future.

As for the Member's question about the percentage of shorter waiting times for flats, as I have said earlier, we have delivered 7,200 over the last two years. There has been an impact because BTO demand has been high and also because there have been disruptions to construction. And we work hard to raise the quantum of shorter waiting time flats even as we continue to grapple with the after-effects of COVID-19.

Mr Murali Pillai.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to ask a supplementary question of the hon Minister in relation to the PPHS supply. The Minister mentioned that the supply is still quite tight. The Government's decision to double the PPHS units is most welcomed. My question is in relation to the number of applicants who satisfy the current criterion of salary ceiling of $7,000 or below. How many people who satisfy the salary ceiling still cannot get the PPHS units and what options are there for them?

In this regard, I had, in my Question No 38 set down in the Order Paper for today, made two suggestions. One is in relation to support for applicants who cannot rely on their families to get rental flats from the public rental market. The other one is in relation to some form of grant to enable them to get the rental flat on their own.

I think the Member has asked a question which is actually further down the line. But, since he has already asked it, I am just wondering whether to wait till then or give him a sneak peek into the answer I am going to give him.

Since August 2021, 1,930 families were eligible for PPHS and had applied for the scheme. About 580 of them were invited to select a PPHS flat, of whom about 330 selected and were allocated such a flat and 250 did not select a flat when invited to do so, which suggests that they did not like the options that were made available to them or they had other housing options. The remaining 1,350 applicants were unsuccessful in their ballot.

Both prior to the imposition of the income ceiling and the other measures and, even now, with the measures in place, on average, we see about 47% of PPHS applicants who decided not to make a selection when they are invited to do so. But, of course, that means others further down the queue will then be invited and that ensures that the flats are occupied.

Mr Vikram Nair.

Sir, I thank the Minister for the answers to many of the burning questions that are being faced by people looking for HDB flats.

One suggestion I had previously made was to look at the supply of resale flats and how we can have more of that in the market because, with more resale flats in the market, that would lower the retail price and, hopefully, get more first-timers looking to the resale market. And the suggestion I previously made was to look at reducing or waiving the Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) period for resale flats.

To be fair, I think the answer I was given then was that that may not be a viable solution because those who sell resale flats will go back into the market. So, would the Minister consider waiving or reducing the MOP for those who sell resale flats but do not intend to go back into the market, say, for those who are moving to stay with their children or maybe even upgrading to private property?

The MOP is intended to reinforce the owner occupation intent for public housing. Whether it is five or 10 years or somewhere in between, we have to strike a balance because, ultimately, there is a minimum period where you need to occupy your flats. And then, people's life stages may change. With children on the way, they may need more space, they may need to move closer to a school or they may have other arrangements.

So, when people need to sell their flats within MOP, generally, we do not waive, but we do look at individual requests on a case-by-case basis to understand the circumstances they face in deciding whether to grant the waiver of MOP or not. And, in fact, that will, in a way, serve to cater to the groups of people who need to move during that period.

But whether we will do so in order to increase the supply of resale flats in the market, I am not quite so sure. When you shorten the MOP, you may see that there will then be demand in other parts of the market.

The following question stood in the name of Ms He Ting Ru –

9 To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether there are any standard training, support or security measures in place for staff of preschools or childcare service providers regulated by the Early Childhood Development Agency to handle unexpected security incidents; and (b) if so, whether any further updates will be made to these measures.

10 Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what physical security measures are preschools and childcare centres required to put in place to detect and prevent intrusions by unauthorised persons; (b) whether the Ministry regularly checks that these measures are being implemented across all centres; and (c) whether these measures are sufficient to prevent persons with criminal intent from entering the centres and harming staff and children.

Question No 9, please.

Mr Speaker, Sir, if I may take Question Nos 9 and 10 together?

Yes, please.

The safety of children in our preschools is of utmost importance. The Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) has regulations that require preschools to put in place measures to protect children and staff from security threats.

All preschools are required to keep their premises secured to prevent any unauthorised personnel from entering the centre. Most preschools use electronic locks at the entrance and visitors are only allowed entry after checks. Every preschool must have procedures in place to check and record the entry and exit of all persons.

All preschools are also required to establish standard operating procedures (SOPs) to handle safety-related incidents, injuries and emergency evacuation during a crisis. Emergency evacuation exercises for all children and staff in preschools must be conducted every six months. Such exercises ensure staff and children are familiar with the processes and are able to respond quickly during a crisis like a fire, terrorist attack or bomb threat. It also enables preschools to validate and strengthen their SOPs.

ECDA’s licensing officers conduct regular licensing and supervisory visits to ensure preschools comply with our regulatory measures to keep their children safe and secure. ECDA also reviews regularly the regulatory requirements for preschools and will update them as necessary.

ECDA collaborates with the Singapore Police Force (SPF) to organise Counter Terrorism seminars for preschools under SGSecure. Preschools are also advised to adopt SGSecure advisories, such as “Run-Hide-Tell” and “Press-Tie-Tell”, which MHA shares with the public and organisations to build vigilance and preparedness against terrorism.

Despite the best efforts by ECDA and our preschools to ensure the safety of children and staff, untoward incidents may still occur. So, apart from preventive measures, preschools, parents and the wider community must stay vigilant and be prepared to handle such incidents should they occur.

More fundamentally, it is important to continue to ensure that our society is safe, for example, by having strict controls over gun ownership and maintaining our zero-tolerance stance towards illicit drugs. Otherwise, it would not just be security in preschools that we have to worry about, but the security for the whole of society.

Mr Speaker, I extend my deepest condolences to the families of the victims of the tragic shootings in Thailand which involved children in preschool centres.

In Singapore, during preschool dismissal times, it is common for a large number of caregivers to be fetching their children at the same time and it is difficult for teachers to identify each and every caregiver, and they are likely to use their own subjective judgement to decide whether to open the door to the centre and release the child to the caregiver.

Can I ask the Minister of State whether all preschools are required by regulation to have their doors locked at all times and unlocked only for authorised persons, whose identity is authenticated by the centre staff, and are they required to maintain a list of pre-designated caregivers who are allowed to fetch the children? If these are not spelt out for the preschool centres, could ECDA assess if these enhanced security measures are necessary to ensure the safety of our very young children?

I thank the Member for his supplementary question. As I had mentioned earlier in my main reply, most preschools use electronic locks at the entrance and visitors as well as people leaving the centre are only allowed to do so when there is a proper check and balance of who these persons are. Though the Member mentioned that there are large numbers of people gathered, potentially, at dismissal time, actually, not all the children leave the preschool at the same time; we have seen staggered dismissal timings as well.

I am quite sure that the Member, myself included, have been to these preschools when it is dismissal time and we have seen that, actually, the teacher allows the students to go only after the teacher has taken a look at who is the caregiver who is there to pick up the child. Most schools also would take note of who the caregiver is who picks up the child and there are also instances where, if the caregiver is not someone that the school recognises, the school then checks in with the family.

The following question stood in the name of Dr Lim Wee Kiak –

11 To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance since the introduction of the Pioneer Generation Package and the Merdeka Generation Package (a) how much of the budget set aside has been spent under each package respectively; (b) how many citizens have benefited from these packages and, of which, how many recipients are still alive; and (c) how has the rise in inflation impacted the budget for these packages.

12 Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) how many seniors have benefited from the Pioneer Generation Package and Merdeka Generation Package respectively; (b) how much money has been disbursed so far under each of the packages; (c) whether the funds set aside for both packages are adequate to meet future disbursements; and (d) whether projected surpluses, if any, can be used to enhance the benefits of both packages.

Question No 11.

the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance): Mr Speaker, may I have your permission to take Question Nos 11 and 12 together?

Yes, please.

Thank you. Sir, we introduced the Pioneer Generation (PG) Package and the Merdeka Generation (MG) Package in 2014 and 2019 respectively, to honour PG and MG seniors for their contributions in the early years of Singapore's nation-building. About 450,000 PG seniors and 500,000 MG seniors have benefited since the inception of the respective PG and MG packages. As of 30 September 2022, there are about 340,000 PG seniors and 480,000 MG seniors.

We established the PG Fund and MG Fund to set aside monies upfront for these packages. This ensured the Government honours our commitment to PG and MG seniors, regardless of future economic or fiscal circumstances. Eight billion dollars and $6.1 billion were set aside at the inception of the PG Fund and MG Fund respectively. We sized the funds based on the projected lifetime cost, the benefits in the PG and MG packages, after accounting for inflation and interest accrued.

In recent years, we have enhanced the PG and MG benefits, such as the introduction of the Additional Participation Incentives for PG and MG seniors who join CareShield Life by 31 December 2023 and higher annual MediSave top-ups for PG seniors from 2021 onwards. The Government will continue to review holistically our schemes and subsidy framework, and update the key parameters where needed, to ensure the affordability of healthcare for Singaporeans, including our PG and MG seniors. As at 31 March 2022, $3.04 billion from the PG Fund and $0.72 billion from the MG Fund have been disbursed.

MOF and MOH review the sufficiency of the PG Fund and MG Fund every year. As at 31 March 2022, there is a balance of $6.16 billion in the PG Fund and $5.72 billion in the MG Fund. The Government will monitor the situation and, if necessary, we will top up these funds to honour the commitments to our PG and MG seniors.

Sir, this is part of our efforts to prepare Singapore for an ageing society and why the Government needs to ensure we have sufficient fiscal resources to support and care for our seniors.

Mr Saktiandi Supaat.

Mr Speaker, I would like to thank the Senior Minister of State for his answer. It is good to hear that there are 340,000 and 380,000 seniors benefiting from the PG and MG Fund. I have one supplementary question. The Senior Minister of State mentioned that there is a $6.1 billion and $5.72 billion balance in both the PG Fund and MG Fund. Is it possible if some of these excess balances can be diverted or funnelled slightly to support or enhance the Silver Support package because there are some segments of the silver generation or seniors in Singapore that may benefit further from the Silver Support package being enhanced going forward? I thank the Senior Minister of State.

Mr Speaker, I would, first, like to clarify that the number of PG seniors who benefited from the PG package is 450,000 and the number of MG seniors who benefited was 500,000 since the inception of these packages.

Mr Saktiandi Supaat's question about Silver Support, I think this is a different objective from the PG and MG packages which are geared more towards providing for the healthcare and peace of mind of our PG and MG seniors. For Silver Support, instead of being cohort-based, as in we look at the PG and MG, Silver Support is actually a structural scheme that seniors who are younger than PG and MG, when they reach the eligible age, they also can receive Silver Support, if they meet the conditions. And the conditions, as Members are aware, we will look at the housing type, the per capita household income and also the CPF balances at age 55.

So, all these are designed to provide some additional help for seniors who, when they were younger, did not earn enough, did not accumulate enough CPF balances and when they grow old, when they retire, we give them some additional help through Silver Support. So, the objective is different from PG and MG, but we will look at both very carefully. For MG and PG, as I mentioned in my main reply, if it is necessary to top up these funds, the PG Fund and the MG Fund, we will do so to honour our commitments to our PG and MG seniors.

For Silver Support, we have been regularly reviewing the amount and also the criteria to see how we can help our seniors who need this assistance when they retire.

The following question stood in the name of Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling –

13 To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what proportion of HDB flat owners with private financial loans may be affected by the rising interest rates; and (b) what is the likelihood of these owners requiring interim housing support from the Government due to foreclosure risk.

14 Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked the Minister for National Development (a) in view of the rising interest rate environment, what is the financial impact on those who have taken HDB and commercial bank loans to finance their HDB flat purchases; (b) whether the Government will consider assisting these affected groups; and (c) if so, how.

Question No 13.

Sir, may I take Question Nos 13 and 14 together?

Yes, please.

Mr Speaker, the impact of rising interest rates on HDB borrowers would depend on the type of loan packages that they have taken.

For those with housing loans from financial institutions (FIs), about 80% are on mortgage packages that track market interest rates, but with some lag. The remaining 20% are on mortgage packages that move in tandem with market interest rates. The second group of borrowers has seen mortgage repayments rise over the past few months.

For borrowers who have taken housing loans from HDB, their mortgage repayments would not have been affected by rising interest rates, as the HDB concessionary loan rate, which is reviewed quarterly, remains unchanged at 2.6% per annum.

The proportion of non-performing mortgages among HDB flat owners has remained low and stable for housing loans extended by both HDB and FIs.

Credit measures, such the Loan-To-Value ratio (LTV) and Mortgage Servicing Ratio (MSR), have helped to ensure that households borrow prudently from the outset. In view of the increase in interest rates and to further encourage financial prudence in borrowing for home purchases, MAS, MND and HDB recently announced measures to promote continued sustainable conditions in the property market. MAS increased the medium-term interest rate floor used to compute the Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) and the MSR for property loans by FIs. HDB introduced an interest rate floor to compute eligible loans for housing loans granted by HDB. These measures help to ensure that HDB flat buyers take on loans prudently and are better able to service their loans should interest rates rise further.

Nonetheless, we recognise that some HDB home owners may face financial difficulties as their circumstances change and we encourage such borrowers to reach out for assistance early.

For HDB home owners with housing loans granted by HDB, HDB has various financial assistance measures in place to help them, which include allowing them to reduce or defer their loan instalments for six months; pay their arrears by instalments within a reasonable period; and/or extend their loan tenure to help reduce their monthly instalments.

HDB home owners with housing loans from FIs should also approach their lenders early to explore solutions if they are facing difficulties servicing their loans. MND, HDB, MOM and MAS have worked with FIs to establish a standardised workflow to assist HDB flat owners in distress. This includes working with flat owners on potential loan restructuring solutions, referring them to HDB and social service agencies for assistance and, where foreclosures by banks or FIs are unavoidable, work with flat owners to source for their next accommodation.

The Government will continue to ensure that public housing remains affordable and accessible for all Singaporeans.

15 Mr Desmond Choo asked the Prime Minister in view of higher interest rates (a) whether there has been an increase in corporate bad debts; and (b) how does the Monetary Authority of Singapore ensure that SMEs continue to have access to capital to grow their businesses.

Mr Speaker, the corporate sector has thus far managed the rise in interest rates well. Corporate revenue has continued to grow. The proportion of non-performing loans (NPL) for the corporate sector has, in fact, fallen over the past year – from 3.1% in June 2021 to 2.5% in June 2022, based on latest available data. The NPL ratio within the SME segment also fell from 2.8% to 2.4% over the same period. NPL has fallen in the corporate sector and also in the SME segment.

SME loan volumes themselves have, indeed, remained resilient over the past year, even as interest rates gradually rose. SME loan volumes expanded by 11.5% on a year-on-year basis in August 2022, compared to the broader corporate loan growth of 7.2%.

As Senior Minister of State Chee Hong Tat recently explained to this House on 4 October 2022, the Government helps businesses access capital to help grow their businesses through various credit schemes. We will continue to monitor developments in this space.

Mr Desmond Choo.

I thank the Minister of State for his answer. I have two supplementary questions. The first one is, as we expect the overall interest rate environment to only increase and the cost of funds for companies to increase rather steeply both here and in the region, what is the forecast on NPLs, especially for the SMEs? My second clarification is, if and when we see a large number of companies facing insolvency, under what circumstances will the Government come in and assist such companies, especially the promising ones, to tide over a difficult period?

I thank the Member for his supplementary questions. What is quite useful is to look at the corporate balance sheets, the health of the corporate balance sheets. Maybe I will just share a few useful data points.

The first is that most Singapore-listed firms continue to hold sufficient liquidity as of the first half of 2022 and these are liquid assets, such as cash and cash equivalents, that are exceeding their short-term liabilities.

And MAS has conducted stress tests on these balance sheets of SGX-listed firms which show that most corporates will be resilient to further interest rate increases and earnings shocks. In the unlisted sector itself, most firms also either have healthy debt servicing ability or sufficient cash holdings to cover the short-term financing or operational needs, but MAS and the Government will monitor this very closely and adjust where necessary.

With regard to the second supplementary question, I mentioned earlier on that Senior Minister of State Chee Hong Tat had shared how the Government is also availing access to financing to the corporate sector as well as SMEs. Some of these include Enterprise Singapore's Enterprise Financing Scheme which help businesses access and tap into funding and also co-sharing loan default risks.

SMEs can also tap on a variety of schemes, such as the Productivity Solutions Grant, Energy Efficiency Grant and SkillsFuture Subsidy, to help them transform their businesses in light of many different challenges afoot. In fact, NTUC's new Company Training Committee grant also helps SMEs to improve productivity as well as the quality of their workforce.

16 Mr Alex Yam asked the Prime Minister (a) what proportion of home owners with loans from private financial institutions have been affected by the rise in interest rates; and (b) what is the risk and magnitude of foreclosures in the near to medium term.

Mr Speaker, households with outstanding mortgages will see higher borrowing costs as market interest rates rise from the exceptionally low levels of the past decade. They will face the impact of the rise at different points of time, as the Minister for National Development articulated earlier, and it also depends on the type of loan packages that they have taken up.

As of 2Q2022, one out of three home owners with outstanding mortgages from financial institutions (FIs) are on mortgage packages that move in tandem with market interest rates. These borrowers have already seen mortgage repayments rise over the past months. The remaining borrowers are then either on rates linked to bank board rates or fixed deposit rates, which track market interest rates but with some lag; or two, on fixed interest rates for the first one, two or three years of their loans. Regardless, as rates continue or could continue to remain high beyond the next two to three years, all households will face higher borrowing costs than today and should, therefore, exercise prudence in their new borrowings.

On the whole, the household debt situation in Singapore remains generally healthy. The proportion of non-performing mortgages among FI loans is low, at 0.3%. The number of foreclosures has, in fact, trended down since 2021 and has remained low at fewer than 30 units so far this year.

MAS does not expect widespread foreclosures in the near to medium term and the situation reflects, in part, the measures we have put in place over the years to limit the amount one can borrow to buy property, including our recent further tightening of these limits.

Stress tests by MAS suggest that most households should still be able to service their mortgages under scenarios of further interest rate hikes and significant income losses. A relatively small proportion of highly leveraged households may, however, be more constrained under the stress scenarios.

Mr Saktiandi Supaat.

I would like to thank the Minister of State for his answer. I have one supplementary question. In regard to the stress test scenario that he mentioned – he mentioned that the level of indebtedness is actually quite low. But does it incorporate the risk of a potentially 5% mortgage rate and above? The Minister for National Development mentioned just now that there will be an enhancement of workflow processes between MND and private sector FIs. So, whether that point that the Minister for National Development mentioned about the workflow processes being enhanced, can that be further enhanced? Because with the worsening of the scenario for mortgage rates, going forward in 2023, whether the enhancement of workflow processes would be of utmost importance?

I thank the Member Saktiandi Supaat for his supplementary question. We have conducted a series of stress tests and most of the stress tests by MAS suggest that, as I mentioned earlier, most of the households, including borrowers on floating rate packages, should be able to service their debt, even under very conservative scenarios of simultaneous interest rate shocks and income loss, and also a full pass-through of sharp global interest rate hikes.

These stress tests – I might qualify or caveat – only assessed debt repayment ability based on income. So, in fact, household savings, such as cash and CPF Ordinary Account (OA) funds, for example, which could provide financial buffers, are excluded. So, they are relatively conservative, in that regard.

I will share another aspect which might be useful. If you look at it from a bottom-up perspective, MAS' account level stress tests of new borrowers have assessed that most households, in fact, should be able to continue servicing their debt under stress assumptions of even a 400-basis point increase in interest rate and a 10% reduction in income.

So, we have conducted these stress tests based on quite conservative measures: excluding CPF OA, cash and also in stressing in quite higher interest rate increases.

But as the Minister for National Development had also earlier mentioned, MAS is working very closely with MND to monitor this situation carefully and, for those who are unable to service their loans, we will find ways in which to allow for debt repayment restructuring as well as to look for alternative housing.

17 Mr Saktiandi Supaat asked the Minister for Transport in light of industry reports that the global supply chain congestion is easing and normalising (a) what percentage of its capacity is Singapore’s seaport presently operating at; (b) what will the impact of a "normalisation" of global supply chains have on our seaport; and (c) whether the Ministry needs to scale up or augment our seaport’s capacity to prepare for the expected change in the shipping landscape over the next year.

Mr Speaker, the Port of Singapore remained open throughout the pandemic and served as a “catch-up” port for many ships that faced delays in other parts of the world. MPA worked closely with PSA and the unions to open additional berths and yards, and deployed more port workers and equipment to handle surges in container volumes. Our port handled a record high container throughput of 37.5 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2021.

Our container port is currently operating at about 85% of its maximum handling capacity of 44 million TEUs per annum. There is enough buffer to meet short-term increases in demand from shipping lines. As more berths at Tuas Port are completed, our handling capacity will increase further and provide sufficient capacity to handle future growth in volumes.

Mr Saktiandi Supaat.

Mr Speaker, I would like to thank the Senior Minister of State for his answer. I just have one supplementary question. I am very concerned because of the recent report in Bloomberg which shared that the New York Federal Reserve's Global Supply Chain Pressure Index fell for a fifth straight month. My concern is that there could be a potential scenario where we could see an untangling of transport snarls which are happening just as fast as the system knotted up previously, last year.

The Senior Minister of State mentioned that we have enough capacity and resources to potentially absorb some increase in activity. But will there be a possible scenario in 2023, where the activity picks up substantially, despite some risk of economic slowdown globally? It could potentially pick up and do we have enough manpower, resources and also the fact that we are in the transition of shifting to Tuas from our current location?

Mr Speaker, I thank Mr Saktiandi Supaat for his questions. The maritime and shipping industry is one that goes through up cycles and down cycles. So, shipping lines and port operators are used to dealing with ups and downs.

Importantly, one of the key drivers of port container volume is global trade and supply chains. There are some signs of certain sectors like manufacturing, for example, slowing down because of what is happening in different parts of the world. So, while some of the factors may point towards increases in trade volumes, there are also other factors that point in the opposite direction.

Regardless of whether it is up cycle or down cycle or an increase in volume or a decrease in volume, what is most critical is this. We maintain very strong tripartite partnerships among employers, unions and Government agencies to always look at how we can maintain our port competitiveness. This is, of course, partly driven by our capabilities like the skills of our workers and the technology we deploy. At Tuas Port, for example, we are not only going to make it a more sustainable and more efficient port, we are also deploying technology that will reduce the need for manpower, for example, drivers. We use autonomous vehicles to help us to transport the cargo within the port. We use productivity improvements so that one crane operator is able to operate multiple quay cranes at the same time.

So, these are all different ways to amplify the impact of our workforce to improve productivity and to improve our port competitiveness.

The second very important factor when it comes to competitiveness for port operations is connectivity. Because the more ships call at Singapore, the more shipping lines hub at Singapore, there is a network effect. This is why we served as a catch-up port during the pandemic because people who got delayed elsewhere come to Singapore to rearrange their cargoes and use us as a catch-up port to make up for lost time.

18 Mr Desmond Choo asked the Minister for Trade and Industry in view of the United States-imposed restrictions on sales of semiconductor products to China from 7 October 2022 (a) what has been the impact on the semiconductor industry in Singapore; and (b) whether, and, if so, how is the Ministry supporting the industry in building up its resilience to geopolitical tensions.

Mr Speaker, the latest US export controls announced on 7 October 2022 are aimed at restricting China’s access to specific types of advanced semiconductor chips, especially those with wide applications in artificial intelligence and supercomputing. While these measures are not targeted at Singapore, our semiconductor sector could still be impacted, since semiconductor supply chains are highly complex and globalised. Many semiconductor companies operating in Singapore have manufacturing processes and products that rely on US technology, which may be subject to export controls imposed by the US government.

While Singapore and our companies cannot be completely sheltered from geopolitical tensions, we can mitigate the risks by ensuring that we remain a stable, trusted and well-connected location for companies to do business. We are also working with our companies to strengthen their business continuity plans and diversify their supply chains. We will also pursue the strategies we announced recently at the launch of our Electronics and Precision Engineering Industry Transformation Maps earlier this week. These include anchoring investments from leading global companies, doubling down on R&D investments in emerging semiconductor technologies and also deepening our talent pipeline.

Collectively, these will enhance Singapore’s relevance in global semiconductor supply chains and strengthen our resilience against any shocks.

Mr Desmond Choo.

I thank the Minister of State for his answer. I have two supplementary questions. The first is: does the Ministry have at least an estimation of how much of our semiconductor industry is exposed to this new set of regulations from the US and, therefore, affecting the economic performance of the industry? Second, in terms of the various free trade agreements that we have in place, how much have they allowed us and the semiconductor companies situated here to be able to navigate the changing landscape for the semiconductor industry?

I thank the Member for his supplementary questions. As I mentioned in my main reply, Singapore is a part of the global supply chain of the semiconductor industry. So, many of our companies do rely on US technologies as part of their manufacturing processes and operations. There could thus be some impact on these companies, but we do not have granular information at this stage.

However, the situation is constantly evolving. So, we are monitoring it very carefully. It is equally possible that the US could be contemplating additional steps that may further reshape or affect the technology supply chains. Our companies will be affected in certain ways, given that we are part of this global semiconductor supply chain. Prime Minister Lee, in Australia recently, said this week that these trade restrictions could result in, I quote, "less economic cooperation, less interdependency, less trust and possibly, ultimately, a less stable world" – which is a clear, negative force for Singapore. Against this backdrop, it is thus more important that we uphold and reiterate our position as a stable, trusted and well-connected hub and location for businesses, including the semiconductor businesses.

Earlier this week, together with Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, we were at ITAP Asia where many of the semiconductor companies were there. We launched the Industry Transformation Maps which will anchor many of their capabilities here – it is not just the semiconductor companies, but the ecosystem that we are attracting to be based here in Singapore. And as the Member mentioned earlier on, with regard to all of our free trade agreements that we have signed, we should make sure that we diversify as much as possible to prevent us from being affected by future shocks that will inevitably arise.

Order. End of Question Time. Introduction of Government Bills.

[Pursuant to Standing Order No 22(3), Written Answers to Question Nos 20, 22-27, 29-55 and 57-65 on the Order Paper are reproduced in the Appendix. The remaining Questions have been postponed to a later Sitting of Parliament or withdrawn.]

[(proc text) "to amend the Goods and Services Tax Act 1993 and to make consequential amendments to the Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Act 2021", (proc text)]

[(proc text) recommendation of President signified; presented by the Senior Minister of State for Finance (Mr Chee Hong Tat) on behalf of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance; read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available Sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. (proc text)]

[(proc text) "to repeal 377A of the Penal Code 1871 and to make consequential amendments to that Code and certain other Acts", (proc text)]

[(proc text) presented by the Minister for Home Affairs (Mr K Shanmugam) read the First time; to be read a Second time at an available Sitting of Parliament on 28 November 2022, and to be printed. (proc text)]

[(proc text) "to amend the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore", (proc text)]

[(proc text) presented by the Minister for Social and Family Development (Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M) read the First time; to be read a Second time at an available Sitting of Parliament on 28 November 2022, and to be printed. (proc text)]

[(proc text) "to amend the Housing and Development Act 1959", (proc text)]

[(proc text) presented by the Minister for National Development (Mr Desmond Lee) read the First time; to be read a Second time at an available Sitting of Parliament on 28 November 2022, and to be printed. (proc text)]

[(proc text) Order for Second Reading read. (proc text)]

Mr Speaker, on behalf of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for Finance, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

The Bill seeks to amend section 4 of the International Development Association, or IDA Act.

IDA is part of the World Bank Group. It provides concessional loans to its least developed member countries. As a member of IDA, Singapore has contributed to IDA's replenishments since 2002.

Currently, section 4 of the IDA Act allows the Government to pay for subscriptions to IDA, up to a cumulative "total subscription" cap of US$1 million. It also allows the Government to seek Parliament's approval to increase the cap, as the Government did in 2016 and 2019. The current cap is US$1.3 million, equivalent to about S$1.85 million.

The amendments to section 4 will require the Government to seek Parliament's approval for every additional subscription to IDA, instead of approving the cap for the cumulative amount of contributions. Parliament will, therefore, remain as the approving authority over any such expenditure.

Mr Speaker, we are introducing these changes because IDA revised its voting rights framework in October 2021.

Under the previous voting rights framework, only a small part of the contributions made by a country would result in "subscription votes". However, under the new voting rights framework, all new contributions to IDA replenishments will equate to subscriptions.

Sir, for avoidance of doubt, it does not mean that our votes will go up sharply relative to other members. This change in method affects all IDA members.

With this change by IDA, we can no longer meaningfully compare past and future votes, as the unit of measurement is no longer the same. We are proposing to amend the Act to reflect these changes.

Singapore will continue to contribute our fair share to IDA as a responsible global stakeholder, while ensuring financial prudence and spending within our means. If Parliament approves this Bill, we plan to separately seek Parliament's approval for our next subscription to IDA in 2023. Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move.

[(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)]

Mr Speaker, Sir, this Bill seeks to make an amendment that would exclude any payment made to the International Development Association (IDA) that is not in the nature of a subscription. Furthermore, a new subsection is added to make provision for the maximum amount of any additional subscription to be specified and to be authorised by a separate resolution of Parliament.

As has been pointed out in this House by Second Minister for Finance, Ms Indranee Rajah, in November 2019, since Singapore joined the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, a major institution of the World Bank Group that makes loans to developing countries, in 1966, it has received 12 loans to support various infrastructure projects. The last loan was signed in 1975. This means that for a decade after Singapore became fully independent, our country benefited from external loans that supported our journey on the path of economic development.

Economists have grappled with the question of what it takes to make a poor country become rich. They do not have a fully satisfactory answer. While alleviating the problem of poverty in developing countries is such an important task, the approach to achieving it is still not so well understood. While we know the proximate causes of economic growth in the sense that a higher standard of living can be explained by a higher level of applied technology and a higher level of human capital and physical capital per worker, less is known about the fundamental causes of economic growth.

What are the underlying reasons why some countries are unable or unwilling to invest in capital and technology? Despite our limited knowledge, we do have many examples of countries that have experienced growth take-offs that raise the quality of life of their citizens.

Our own experience – the Singapore experience – suggests that when political and economic institutions are set up that support an integration with the global economy to facilitate the transfer of technology, we achieve a growth take-off. Along the growth path, the extension of external loans to finance infrastructural projects enables the country to overcome capital market constraints, especially when the investment is lumpy. Singapore's subscription to IDA as a donor country allows us to contribute to a global fund that can potentially enable other countries to get onto a path of economic development, just as Singapore did.

There is a wide gap in the standard of living between poor and rich countries. Some economists have argued that geography plays a big part in explaining why some countries remain poor despite the availability of frontier technology that can be tapped for growth. Unfavourable soil conditions may make it hard to develop agriculture, for example, and many countries tend to have to develop their agriculture first before manufacturing can become an increasing share of the GDP. For such countries, a lack of navigable rivers and poor access to sea transport may make it difficult for them to effectively make use of their factors of production.

Communities might also be disadvantaged economically when climatic conditions lead to widespread diseases, such as malaria and dengue fever, that affect a large proportion of the labour force. For them, therefore, concessional loans can be made available, through IDA, to finance large-scale investments in transport infrastructure and disease eradication to partially overcome these geographical disadvantages.

I think that Singapore can make a meaningful contribution to this global effort. Mr Speaker, Sir, I support this Bill.

Senior Minister of State Chee Hong Tat.

Mr Speaker, I thank Prof Hoon Hian Teck for supporting the Bill.

Sir, Singapore has been contributing to IDA for the past 20 years in support of the World Bank's efforts to improve the lives of people in the poorest countries. As Prof Hoon shared in his speech, when Singapore was a Third World country in the early years of our Independence, we had benefited from loans provided by the World Bank to finance our nation-building and key infrastructure, such as our port. Today, we have the world's largest container transhipment hub-port.

There is a Chinese saying 饮水思源 – when we drink water, we must remember where it came from. And when we are able to do so, we shall pay it forward to help others.

As a responsible member of the international community, Singapore will continue to do our part to support the World Bank in assisting disadvantaged economies finance their long-term development needs, including initiatives to mitigate the effects of climate change, and to build stronger resilience against future pandemics and natural disasters.

Within our region, IDA will also help some of our neighbours like Laos and Cambodia.

As Prof Hoon Hian Teck said, a stable and economically vibrant ASEAN will benefit all countries in the region, including Singapore. Mr Speaker, I beg to move.

[(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)]

[(proc text) Question put, and agreed to. (proc text)]

[(proc text) Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. (proc text)]

[(proc text) The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. – [Mr Chee Hong Tat]. (proc text)]

[(proc text) Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. (proc text)]

[(proc text) Resolved, "That Parliament do adjourn to 12.00 pm on Monday, 7 November 2022." – [Mr Zaqy Mohamad]. (proc text)]

Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That Parliament do now adjourn."

[(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)]

Mr Speaker, Sir, September was World Alzheimer's Month. It is a timely reminder to consider how we can better prepare Singapore to be a dementia-friendly society.

Singapore is ageing rapidly. In time to come, there will be more senior citizens and they will live longer, too. Currently, around one in six Singaporeans is aged 65 and older, with an average lifespan of 83.5 years. By 2030, around one in four citizens will be aged 65 and above.

The downside is that with more older people, there will also be more people afflicted with dementia. Amongst the seniors, one in 10 persons above age 60 has been diagnosed with dementia. The incidence rate will increase to one out of two for those above age 85.

At present, there are approximately 92,000 persons diagnosed with dementia and this number is projected to increase by 65% to 152,000 in the next eight years.

These staggering statistics represent a wake-up call. Is Singapore ready to cope with more people living with dementia? More importantly, can Singapore be a more dementia-friendly society as this disease becomes more prevalent in our rapidly-ageing society?

Dementia is a terminal illness because people living with dementia, or PLWDs in short, will not recover. Their condition will only deteriorate over time. In the advanced stage, most PLWDs would require extensive caregiving needs. Caregiving for PLWDs is challenging and may require 24/7 attention.

Very often, family members will have to give up their work and some may even suffer from burnout. There will be also implications for the caregivers' own financial security in old age and the productivity of our labour force will also take a hit. The economic impact to the families and society at large cannot be underestimated.

On this note, I would like to ask the Ministry if a comprehensive study on the social and economic impact of dementia on Singapore can be commissioned.

My mother is also a PLWD. Caregiving has, indeed, been very challenging. Fortunately, my family members have been able to rally together to support one another and we are fortunate to have access to help and support.

However, for many Singaporeans, they may have great difficulty coping with caregiving for a loved one afflicted with dementia. In fact, I have met several residents who are struggling to cope with caregiving. They shared that due to lack of social interaction during the pandemic, their loved ones who are afflicted with dementia have shown significant cognitive decline and deterioration of their motor skills.

In recent years, there have been concerted efforts to increase awareness and provide community support services to help families with PLWDs. I sincerely appreciate the efforts made by the Government and various community groups, voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs) and volunteers to assist PLWDs and their families.

Nonetheless, we are racing against time as there is a fast-closing window to get ready before the dementia emergency hits us. I urge the Government to expedite the implementation of dementia-focused policies and the building of more dementia-friendly infrastructure and community programmes.

As details regarding future measures for dementia was not quite covered in the recent Healthier SG White Paper, I would like to share my ideas in this Adjournment Motion. They are in three broad categories. I will start with building capacity which takes the longest lead time; then mitigation against challenges associated with dementia; and finally, prevention.

Many of the suggestions and feedback are collated from community partners whom I work with. I would like to thank Dementia Singapore, Agency for Integrated Care, National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre, AWWA Singapore, Dementia and Co, and the Tsao Foundation, amongst others, for the impactful work that has been done to help PLWDs and their families.

I would also like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation and gratitude to the staff, volunteers and families who had shared their thoughts and suggestions with me. I hope to carry their voices in this House so that, as a society, Singapore can be better prepared for dementia.

Capacity projection for dementia care is a challenging task because the needs of PLWDs are wide-ranging and complex. There are different types of dementia and the health conditions for PLWDs at different stages of dementia can vary across a wide spectrum.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution. A range of care facilities are needed to provide comprehensive care for PLWDs and to support their caregivers. Capacity building can be broadly discussed in two categories, namely, medical facilities and expertise, as well as community facilities and programmes.

Over the years, the Government has been building up its capacity in the provision of primary care. By 2030, there will be 32 polyclinics island wide. I look forward to mental health and memory clinics being available in all polyclinics so that PLWDs can access these facilities quite conveniently.

I urge the Ministry to consider including dementia detection as an option for seniors undergoing regular health screening.

Early diagnostics and detection are critical to help patients slow down the progress of dementia. It is very important to catch this disease early because there is only a small window to intervene effectively through a beneficial combination of medication, exercise, brain stimulation and socialisation.

In terms of trained medical personnel, I also hope that MOH has been increasing the number of geriatricians and psychologists. I would like to know what is the projected ratio of geriatricians versus senior citizens by 2030. How will MOH build up this pipeline of medical specialists over the next eight years?

Ageing-in-place is the preferred way for PLWDs to live. Familiarity with the living environment will help them cope better as their memory fades. However, for families that are unable to provide caregiving or for PLWDs who do not have loved ones to care for them, admission into nursing homes then becomes inevitable.

In the community, the number of places in dementia day care centres, senior care centres and nursing homes have been increasing. However, I am concerned that the rate of increase may not keep up with the needs of the growing number of PLWDs.

I understand that the current waiting time for nursing homes is nine months to a year. While I am heartened to note that in the next 10 years, our nursing home bed capacity will go up by close to another 100% to more than 31,000 beds, I am worried if this is even enough, especially for elderly with issues like dementia.

I hope the Minister would share the progress on the infrastructure build-up plans and strategies to recruit staff and train them. Also, how will we ramp up our caregiver support and training? Would the Ministry elaborate on how these options will be financed, Government subsidies available and the estimated range that a family is expected to pay?

Other than nursing homes, having a range of care and accommodation options is key to support families who are struggling with family members with dementia. While some PLWDs may need 24/7 full-time care, some others will actually be able to manage a range of independent living with varying levels of support or supervision.

Hence, it is important to provide alternative models of care in the community for PLWDs, other than nursing homes and senior day care centres, such as the Wellness Kampung community facilities, where they can participate in social activities while their caregivers get some respite.

As our nation enters into an ageing demographic phase, it is crucial to review the design of our estates. Our estates will have to be more dementia-friendly. I would like to ask the Government to expedite the building of such community infrastructure, such as in new HDB estates and the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme, for existing estates to be dementia-friendly.

I would encourage fellow Members of Parliament and their Town Councils to consider adopting dementia-friendly designs for their repainting works. Distinctive colours and landmarks can be created to help PLWDs to better recognise their surroundings in case they lose their bearings and are unable to find their way home.

Another idea is to proliferate assisted living arrangements which allow seniors to remain independent and socially connected. This would also address the issue of many elderly living alone after their children get married and move out. One such example is Red Crown social enterprise, which arranges for several seniors to live together, provide companionship and help to take care of one another.

Some degree of Government involvement and grants can help to scale up this nascent industry and to ensure that operators meet minimum service standards.

VWOs play a key role to assist PLWDs and their caregivers. They have well-trained social workers and volunteers to engage PLWDs in social activities that will slow down their decline and calm their moods. They also assist caregivers with counselling services so that they can manage their stress better and deal with burnout.

Unfortunately, many families with PLWDs are not even aware of the services provided by these VWOs. Hence, the community network plays an important role to connect the VWOs with residents who may need assistance.

I would like to share that in Sembawang West constituency, we started a Dementia Caregivers Support Network to help residents access the services provided by the VWOs. The caregivers can also give each other mutual support and share their experiences and useful tips on caregiving.

However, many of such VWOs are only partially funded by the Government and will need to raise their own funds, competing with other VWOs for the charity dollar. After all, funds are required for these VWOs to scale up their services and do outreach so that more PLWDs and families can benefit.

I hope that MOH can review the funding model for such VWOs supporting dementia-friendly programmes so that they can focus their energies and resources on their programmes and services instead of on organising fund-raising activities.

Mr Speaker, the second thrust is to mitigate the challenges faced by PLWDs, especially for those in the early and moderate stages, for them to live more independently. To this end, a robust policy framework and adequate social infrastructure and services are essential for PLWDs to carry on with the basic functions to work, live and travel.

To protect the interests of PLWDs, we need to increase awareness of Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA), Advance Care Planning (ACP) and Advance Medical Directive (AMD). I urge the Ministry to consider increasing the visibility of LPAs, ACPs and AMDs at GPs, polyclinics as well as public and private hospitals.

People should be more aware of the role of social workers and professional donees registered with the Office of the Public Guardian and agencies, such as the Special Needs Trust Company, a non-profit agency which helps vulnerable people set up care plans using their insurance or assets.

To create more awareness, we need more talks and seminars at the community level as well as coverage on our free-to-air TV channels and Government social media on dementia and what to do in preparation. For instance, the media coverage on several high-profile cases related to vulnerable PLWDs being swindled by ill-intended relatives or friends had actually spurred people to set up LPAs and wills.

Beyond the Government and local communities, I would also like to suggest more involvement of the private sector. The public sector can collaborate with private entities to sponsor programmes within their companies and in the community to be dementia-friendly. Our transportation system, airport, malls and public building owners can incorporate features to make their spaces and customer interactions more dementia-friendly. For instance, SMRT is taking the lead to provide 98 of its train stations across Singapore with Go-To-Points by the end of 2022. These Go-To-Points will allow disoriented customers or commuters to calm down and wait in a comfortable space for their family members to bring them home safely.

Similarly, service providers, particularly banks, need to consider how they can better serve these customers while protecting their interests. It would be ideal if businesses can initiate these improvements. Notwithstanding, I hope the Government would consider expediting these changes with guidelines and, if necessary, legislation for specific sectors.

To promote inclusiveness, I would like to request more support for people with young onset dementia, or YOD. How can YODs remain employed for as long as possible? How can employers be incentivised to redesign job roles, offer micro jobs and shape a more dementia-friendly work environment? Also, how can employers be more understanding and supportive towards employed caregivers who are supporting loved ones at home with dementia?

I hope a more compassionate and inclusive workplace culture would develop over time, especially as retirement age is progressively extended to 70.

Mr Speaker, the age-old saying "prevention is better than cure" rings so true. In recent years, dementia has become more prevalent in Singapore. It leads me to wonder – does Singapore have a higher proportion of people with dementia, compared to other developed countries?

I am heartened to note the launch of the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine Dementia Research Centre in April 2022. The centre will conduct research to understand more about this disease.

Evidence from various international studies shows that dementia can actually be prevented or delayed through the adoption of healthy lifestyle habits, including having regular physical activities, maintaining a balanced diet, not having excessive alcohol intake and not smoking. A recent study published in the International Journal of Epidemiology suggests that obesity may be associated with an increased risk for developing dementia.

While all of the above preventive actions are individual choices, the outcomes will have a profound impact on our families, our community and our nation. Thus, we must all make a greater concerted effort to help one another make good choices for our health and to persist in them.

In addition to the initiatives in Healthier SG, the Government should consider investing more resources into public education and campaigns and to redesign policies and systems to nudge our people to take greater responsibility for their own health and self-care. It will save individuals and the healthcare system a whole lot of money from medical bills and expenses in the future.

For example, our hawker centres and food courts are still serving mostly high carbs, meaty dishes with little vegetables. We will need to have more healthy choices for our national canteens and encourage people to consume more greens on top of less sugar, less salt and less oil.

It has also been found in a recent Harvard Medical School study that the lack of sleep in middle-age persons may increase dementia risk. Many of us, including my Parliamentary colleagues, sacrifice sleep to get more work done or to complete other tasks. One tell-tale sign of sleep deprivation is when Members occasionally nod off involuntarily in this Chamber. Let us set a good example and get at least six to eight hours of sleep daily.

Mr Speaker, dementia can happen to any one of us and our families will be adversely affected. As a nation, we need to recognise dementia is a fast-growing issue. In the next decade, a lot more work needs to be done to increase our capacity, to mitigate the challenges associated with dementia and to take preventive lifestyle changes.

While MOH expedites capacity building, we can all do our part to spread awareness about dementia, to improve our community facilities and programmes and also to take better care of ourselves while we are still young. Let us not burden our future generations with the challenges of caregiving.

Most importantly, let us work towards a more compassionate, caring and inclusive society to help people living with dementia live with meaning and dignity. [Applause.]

Ms Rahayu Mahzam.

Mr Speaker, I thank Ms Poh Li San for her suggestions to prepare Singapore for dementia. This is an important topic, given our ageing population and the rising number of persons with dementia.

MOH adopts a three-pronged approach to address dementia: first, strengthening prevention and early detection; second, building capacity of care services; and third, enhancing support for caregivers.

Beyond healthcare, I will also share how MOH has collaborated with different agencies, community groups and businesses to build more caring and dementia-inclusive communities.

Adopting a healthy lifestyle can reduce the risk of dementia. A 2020 report by the Lancet Commission estimated that 40% of dementia cases can be prevented or delayed by addressing 12 modifiable risk factors, including diabetes, obesity and hearing loss.

Through Healthier SG, we will empower our population to improve their health, such as through regular exercise and healthy eating. In addition, programmes like functional screening also allow us to identify seniors with hearing impairment and fit them with hearing aids. This enables seniors to maintain social engagement with others which helps to lower the risk of dementia.

Health Promotion Board (HPB) and Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) conduct campaigns and provide resources through portals like HealthHub and DementiaHub.SG to educate the public on common risk factors and signs of dementia. Through education, we hope to destigmatise dementia and encourage early help-seeking.

Early detection of dementia is important so that individuals receive timely treatment. Nevertheless, there is no clear evidence internationally that general dementia screening in persons without recognised signs or symptoms of cognitive impairment is an effective public health intervention. Hence, our current efforts in early detection continue to be targeted at those at risk.

Within the community, we have outreach teams known as CREST that proactively identify seniors at risk of dementia and refer them for assessment. As of December 2021, we have 68 CREST Teams. They have reached out to over 510,000 participants through outreach events and provided assistance to more than 32,000 persons.

Active ageing centres (AACs), polyclinics and trained general practitioners (GPs) also help to identify seniors with suspected dementia and refer them for assessment.

These cases will be referred to memory clinics in polyclinics and hospitals to confirm the diagnosis and cause of dementia. More than half of our polyclinics currently provide these services and we are in discussions to bring more polyclinics on board.

Various care services support persons at different stages of dementia.

The majority of dementia cases have mild to moderate needs and can be supported in the community. Dementia Day Care (DDC) services provide custodial care, cognitive stimulating activities and reminiscence therapy to improve or maintain the seniors' well-being. We have more than tripled the capacity of DDCs from 1,000 places in 2015 to 4,200 places in 2021.

We also have Community Intervention Teams (COMIT) that provide psychosocial interventions like counselling and case management. In FY2021, COMIT teams supported a total of 11,100 clients.

A small group of dementia cases may require inpatient care as their condition deteriorates. The majority of nursing homes can care for persons with dementia. From end-2015, we have added 4,000 nursing home beds to reach a total of over 16,000 beds in end-2020. Upcoming nursing homes developed by MOH are also built with dementia-friendly provisions like therapeutic gardens and closed-loop wandering paths.

The Member stated that the current wait time for a nursing home bed is nine months to a year. To clarify, the median wait time is currently around one month, although this may take longer for some seniors who have specialised care needs or specific preferences.

The Member asked about our pipeline of clinical manpower. Today, all doctors are trained to provide basic management of dementia conditions. Specialists like geriatricians and psychiatrists are equipped to manage more severe conditions associated with dementia. As at December 2021, there are 152 geriatricians and 277 psychiatrists registered with the Singapore Medical Council (SMC). This represents a 50% and 15% increase respectively from 2017. This translates to 2.8 geriatricians and 5.1 psychiatrists per 100,000 population.

There is no international consensus on the optimal ratio of geriatricians and psychiatrists to population.

MOH has also been increasing the number of residency training positions for geriatric medicine and psychiatrists. We will continue to review and adjust the pipeline of medical specialists to support ageing population needs.

We provide multiple layers of financial support to ensure that long-term care costs remain affordable.

Firstly, we provide means-tested subsidies of up to 80% for services like DDC.

Secondly, if dementia has impacted an individual's ability to perform activities of daily living, grants like Pioneer Generation Disability Assistance Scheme and CareShield Life insurance payouts would further help to defray the cost of care.

Lastly, MediFund will provide support for those who need further help.

As announced earlier this year, we will also enhance the Home Caregiving Grant to defray caregiving costs.

Social Services Agencies (SSAs) play a key role in providing long-term care services and support for caregivers. Besides direct funding for programmes and services, the Government also provides dollar-for-dollar matching grants for donations to SSAs through the Community Silver Trust.

Caregiving is an important responsibility. The Member asked about support for: (a) caregivers of newly-diagnosed individuals; (b) caregiver training; and (c) working caregivers. Let me address these questions.

Upon diagnosis, the caregiver may not fully understand the condition or know where to seek help. We have, therefore, started the CREST-Post Diagnostic Support (PDS) pilot to proactively reach out to families upon diagnosis, link them up with resources and equip caregivers with coping strategies. As of December 2021, there are two CREST-PDS teams and we plan to expand the number in 2023.

The Caregivers Training Grant (CTG) provides a $200 annual subsidy for attending courses, including on dementia care, where caregivers can learn to better manage their own stress and well-being. We will continue to review how to better support caregiver training.

For working caregivers, MOM has worked with the tripartite partners to encourage the adoption of flexible work arrangements (FWAs). Today, a vast majority of employees have access to FWAs. A new set of Tripartite Guidelines on FWAs will be further introduced by 2024 that will require employers to put in place a proper process to fairly consider and respond to employees' request for FWAs.

Caregivers can also tap on various community care options for their loved ones. These include DDCs and the Night Respite Care pilot for those experiencing sun-downing.

As the Member pointed out, persons with dementia face complex challenges, such as safety and mental capacity. We must take a whole-of-society approach to address these issues.

In 2016, AIC launched the Dementia-Friendly Singapore (DFSG) initiative to establish more dementia-friendly communities (DFCs).

Within a DFC, networks are created where residents, businesses and grassroots leaders are trained to look out for persons with dementia. Go-to-Points (GTPs) are also created to serve as "safe return" points for those who might be lost. The initiative was well-received and we have since established 15 DFCs across Singapore.

AIC will be launching a dementia campaign next month to rally more community and corporate partners to join us in making Singapore more dementia-friendly. We will expand our efforts to five sectors that regularly serve seniors, namely: transport, building, arts and leisure, banking and retail.

The Member highlighted our collaboration with SMRT. Besides transport, venues for the arts have also started catering programmes for persons with dementia. In 2016, Esplanade launched the "Sing Out Loud!" programme to help persons with dementia deepen engagements with their caregivers through singing. Last year, Esplanade also became the first arts venue to become a dementia Go-To-Point (GTP) and their staff also received basic training to assist visitors with dementia.

Creating a dementia-friendly physical environment is important for persons with dementia to move around safely and participate in social activities.

For instance, Nee Soon Town Council worked with stakeholders to paint HDB blocks with large block numbers and contrasting colours to help residents with wayfinding.

AIC is also working with Centre of Liveable Cities (CLC) and Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) to study dementia-friendly neighbourhoods. The learnings gathered will be developed into a set of design guidelines to make the built environment safer and easier to navigate.

HDB will continue to explore incorporating such dementia-friendly features into new developments and in existing estates through upgrading programmes.

The Member also asked about micro-jobs for persons with dementia.

MOH and MOM will work with tripartite partners like Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) and NTUC to enhance the understanding of dementia at the workplace through educational materials and encourage employers to hire such persons where they are able to meet the operational needs of businesses.

Persons with dementia may find it increasingly difficult to make decisions independently. Seniors with mild dementia or even those who are well should plan ahead when they still have mental capacity, to give themselves and their loved ones peace of mind.

MOH, MSF and PSD are working to increase awareness and adoption of instruments, such as the Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) and Advance Care Planning (ACP).

We launched the My Legacy portal in 2020 to raise awareness on planning ahead and serve as a one-stop portal for end-of-life related matters. It contains an LPA-ACP tool which allows users to make both documents at one go. This complements communications and engagement efforts, such as the annual ACP week campaign led by AIC, and involving our health and community care partners.

Planning for dementia is a continuous effort. We have made good progress and will continue to study further strategies to enhance dementia care. Let us work together to build a dementia-inclusive Singapore and support persons with dementia to lead purposeful and dignified lives.

Exactly on time.

[(proc text) Question put, and agreed to. (proc text)]

[(proc text) Resolved, "That Parliament do now adjourn." (proc text)]

Adjourned accordingly at 3.45 pm.

20 Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis asked the Prime Minister (a) what is the basis for setting the new total debt servicing ratio medium-term interest rate floor at 4% per annum; (b) how does the rate compare with historical mortgage rates in Singapore; and (c) whether MAS expects the "thereafter interest rate" to exceed the 4% per annum floor in the next 12 months.

MAS recently raised the medium-term interest rate floor to 4% for residential property loans under both the total debt servicing ratio (TDSR) and mortgage servicing ratio (MSR) frameworks, based on assessments of the likely path forward for market interest rates.

The three-month Compounded Singapore Overnight Rate Average (SORA), which is a key reference for floating rate mortgage loan packages, has increased from near-zero levels in the last decade to about 2% as of early-October 2022. Interest rates for SORA-based mortgages, which include a spread, have increased, in tandem, to about 3%. The long-run historical average for mortgage rates was around 4% in the 1990s and 2000s, before the period of exceptionally low rates we saw between 2009 and 2021.

Judging from market-based forward prices, the interest rates for SORA-based mortgages could rise further in 2023, before easing to levels that will still be significantly higher than the low rates seen in the last decade.

The medium-term interest rate floor framework ensures that borrowers continue to borrow prudently as interest rates rise.

In periods of low mortgage rates, financial institutions are required to assess borrowers' debt servicing ability at the higher medium-term interest floor rate.

In periods when the medium-term interest rate floor is exceeded, financial institutions are required to compute the TDSR and MSR using the highest interest rate applicable over the property loan tenure.

With global growth weakening and interest rates rising, we urge households to exercise caution and ensure that they are able to service their debts before making long-term financial commitments.

22 Dr Shahira Abdullah asked the Minister for Health (a) what is the prevalence of cases of elderly self-harm in Singapore; (b) whether there has been an increase in such cases over the years; and (c) what are the current efforts to ensure that the elderly is able to access help as more resources are moved online.

MOH does not keep track of the overall prevalence of elderly self-harm cases in Singapore, but the number of elderly self-harm cases seen at our public acute hospitals was stable for the last five years at around 10 annually.

The circumstances of elderly self-harm cases can be complex and multi-faceted. MOH, together with other Ministries, adopts a multi-pronged approach to provide support for elderly at risk of self-harm: upstream prevention, proactive outreach and professional support and crisis interventions.

In upstream prevention, MOH builds public awareness among seniors on the importance of mental well-being. For example, under the "Live Well, Age Well" (LWAW) programme, the Health Promotion Board (HPB) conducts healthy ageing workshops. These workshops include psychosocial modules that equip seniors with knowledge and skills to maintain their mental well-being and provide information on where to seek help if needed. These programmes are rolled out within the community, such as in Community Clubs, and can also be accessed virtually.

To support vulnerable and socially isolated seniors, befrienders from the Active Ageing Centres (AACs) proactively reach out to these seniors through regular home visits and check-in calls. The Silver Generation Office (SGO) complements AACs by conducting targeted outreach to seniors who are living alone or are frail. Together with the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC), MOH has also set up Community Outreach Teams (CREST) to reach out to seniors with or who may be at risk of depression or dementia, to provide mental health information and education and basic emotional support.

Seniors who require care and support are referred to the appropriate services. For example, the Community Intervention Teams (COMIT) provide assessment and psychosocial therapeutic interventions to individuals, including seniors, with mental health and dementia needs. Family Service Centres (FSCs) also provide case management and counselling support to low-income and vulnerable seniors, to help them with issues, such as family, financial and emotional difficulties.

There are services to support crisis intervention. For instance, hotlines, such as the Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) Hotline and the Institute of Mental Health (IMH)'s Mental Health Helpline, provide counselling and self-harm prevention resources, as well as crisis support.

MOH will continue to work closely with our partners to develop community resources and build capabilities to better support at-risk seniors.

23 Mr Leong Mun Wai asked the Minister for Health (a) what is the current total number of registered foreign doctors in Singapore; (b) what is the average annual increase in this number since 2000; and (c) what is the breakdown of these numbers according to nationalities.

24 Mr Leong Mun Wai asked the Minister for Health how many doctors who are (i) Singaporean and (ii) non-Singaporean and who graduated from local and recognised foreign universities are granted registration to practise in Singapore since 2000.

As at 31 December 2021, there were 15,423 doctors with active practising certificates in Singapore. Ninety-three point two percent (14,367) are Singapore Citizens or Permanent Residents and 63.4% (9,113) of them were locally trained.

Of the Non-Resident (NR) doctors in Singapore, 6.9% were locally trained and 93.1% were foreign trained. Hence, the proportion of NR doctors who are foreign trained in Singapore is small, at about 6%. The doctors are mainly from India, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines and the United Kingdom.

25 Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Minister for Home Affairs with the number of individuals granted Permanent Resident (PR) status in 2021 at a record high since 2009 (a) what are the reasons for this; (b) whether the number of PRs is expected to increase and to what extent; (c) how will the enhancements to our Employment Pass framework contribute to this; (d) how long can they expect to wait before receiving their Singapore citizenship after applying; and (e) what are the efforts to facilitate the conversion of suitable PRs.

About 33,400 individuals were granted Permanent Residency (PR) in 2021. This number is similar to pre-COVID-19 levels. For instance, we granted about 32,900 new PRs in 2019. The grant figure in 2021 included several thousand applicants who were approved in-principle but had not completed all the required processes to be granted PR by end-2020. Such processes have to be done in-person and some applicants could not do so due to travel restrictions amid the COVID-19 situation. This also explained the below-trend number of 27,470 PRs granted in 2020.

The exact number of new PRs granted each year depends on several factors, including the number and quality of applications we receive. We will continue to select PRs based on their ability to integrate and contribute to Singapore and their commitment to sinking roots here. We have kept and will continue to keep the pace of immigration measured and stable, so that Singapore remains a cohesive society and a good home for all Singaporeans.

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) assesses applications for PR independently from work passes. Changes to the Employment Pass Framework will not change how ICA assesses PR applications, which includes evaluating the applicants’ family ties, contributions to Singapore and length of residency. No work pass, including the new Overseas Networks and Expertise (ONE) Pass, gives its holder any guarantee of or fast-track to PR.

Singapore Citizenship (SC) applications usually take 12 months to process.

The best way to encourage qualified PRs to convert to SC is to continue to ensure that Singaporeans are well-looked after in a Singapore that continues to do well.

Further, we have, in recent years, widened the differentiation of benefits accorded to PRs and Singaporeans, such that Singaporeans receive more benefits in areas, such as parenthood, housing, healthcare and education. This reflects the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship. That said, taking up citizenship is a serious commitment that is, ultimately, a personal decision.

26 Miss Rachel Ong asked the Minister for Health (a) what is the average pricing for rehabilitative physiotherapy sessions before subsidy in organisations eligible for Government subsidies, for seniors above 60 years old; (b) what is the current percentage of seniors who have their fees subsidised for such services; (c) how many seniors discontinue rehabilitative physiotherapy sessions each year due to financial difficulties; and (d) of these seniors who discontinue such services due to financial difficulties, what is the percentage breakdown based on monthly household income per capita and annual value of residence.

The average pre-subsidy fee charged by community care organisations providing subsidised day rehabilitation services is around $95 per session. Seniors receiving rehabilitation services in the community can receive means-tested subsidies of up to 80%. In 2021, about 80% of seniors who received rehabilitation services in the community benefited from these subsidies.

MOH does not have data on the number of seniors who discontinued rehabilitation sessions due to financial difficulties. Nevertheless, seniors who face difficulties paying their rehabilitation bills may seek their healthcare provider’s assistance in applying for discretionary financial assistance, including MediFund assistance, for needy Singaporeans. This ensures that seniors can receive the care they require, regardless of their financial circumstances.

27 Mr Saktiandi Supaat asked the Minister for Transport with regard to the tender by LTA to deploy 12,000 charging points across nearly 2,000 HDB carparks, what percentage of the charging points are intended for (i) electric vehicle rental services and (ii) private electric vehicle owners respectively.

Electric Vehicle (EV) charging points to be deployed under the HDB carparks tender are publicly accessible and not for the exclusive use of any segment of vehicles.

29 Mr Murali Pillai asked the Minister for Education whether there is any study being commissioned to understand the impact of preschool children wearing face masks at preschools during the COVID-19 pandemic on their social development and to develop strategies to deal with any identified issues when they enter Primary schools.

MOE has not commissioned any formal studies on the impact of mask wearing on the social and emotional development of preschool children. The specific impact of mask wearing may be difficult to determine within this short timeframe.

From child development theories and feedback from teachers and parents, we know that children benefit from being able to see their teachers’ and caregivers’ faces and the full range of expressions for their language and social and emotional development.

While most children would have adapted to mask wearing, we would not be able to ascertain the efficacy of their coping strategies. Nonetheless, teachers will continue to monitor the children and support their holistic development.

30 Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong asked the Minister for Health (a) what is the cause of the disruption to the electronic medical system on 29 September 2022; (b) how long does the Government expect the review of the system design and architecture and the eventual system upgrade will take; and (c) pending a complete review and system upgrade, whether the Ministry is also be setting any interim, shorter-term goals for the reduction of downtime during outages.

The disruption to the electronic medical records system on 29 September 2022 was the result of a software error in the firewall of a backup data centre.

The root cause has been fully rectified with improvements to the network and disaster recovery design. We will upgrade systems when this is assessed to be necessary. We are also reviewing our downtime and business continuity processes to minimise the impact during outages.

31 Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye asked the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) how much have prices of fresh fish increased over the past six months; and (b) whether the trend of rising prices for fresh fish is expected to continue into 2023.

Factors, such as climate change, adverse weather conditions and increases in the costs of feed and energy, have resulted in supply shortages and price fluctuations for various food items, including fish. On a seasonally-adjusted basis, fish and seafood prices rose by 4.7% over the six-month period from February 2022 to August 2022.

As Singapore imports more than 90% of our food, we are not able to isolate ourselves from food supply disruptions or price fluctuations. Nonetheless, we work to reduce the impact by diversifying our food sources and ramping up local production. Today, our supply of seafood is relatively well-diversified, with import sources from about 80 countries. We are also building capabilities and capacity to transform our local aquaculture sector into a highly productive, climate-resilient and resource-efficient one.

Businesses can also take steps to contribute to our resilience by implementing business continuity plans, while consumers can contribute by being flexible with our food choices.

32 Dr Shahira Abdullah asked the Minister for Home Affairs in view of the number of those aged 21 and below arrested for causing serious hurt increasing from 62 cases in 2011 to 77 in 2020 (a) what has been attributed to these numbers; (b) whether there are updated numbers for 2021 and 2022; and (c) what is being done to counter this trend.

The Police define offences causing serious hurt as the commission of offences under sections 323A and 324 to 326 of the Penal Code. These cover offences which result in grievous hurt, or voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt by dangerous means or weapons.

The number of offenders aged 21 and below, which I will refer to as youth offenders, who were arrested for these offences was: 85 in 2021 and 27 in the first half of 2022. Since 2011, the number has fluctuated, with a low of 51 in 2017 and a high of 87 in 2016. There is no clear trend. The number of youth offenders as a percentage of all offenders for offences causing serious hurt remains low. Overall, the situation is under control.

Why youths commit offences, whether violent offences or otherwise, is a complex and multifaceted issue. Correspondingly, tackling this requires a multi-stakeholder approach. All stakeholders, including educational institutions, law enforcement agencies, social services and parents, have a role to play in reducing youth crime. It requires a holistic approach, including preventive programmes upstream, rehabilitative programmes downstream, as well as effective enforcement.

The Police work with the schools, Institutes of Higher Learning and the National Crime Prevention Council to educate our youths on the consequences of crime. These include school talks, crime prevention exhibitions and crime awareness programmes.

One such programme is the Delta League, which engages youths aged 13 to 17, through sports and meaningful activities, such as workshops and design competitions, to keep them occupied during the school holidays to steer them away from crime. As part of Delta League, anti-gang experts from the Police share relevant information with the youths to divert them away from violent behaviour and activities, by informing them of the dangers and consequences of joining gangs and violence.

Aside from Delta League, the Police conduct several other programmes to steer youths away from gang activities, such as the Joint Outreach Programmes and Streetwise Programme.

The Joint Outreach Programmes, conducted in collaboration with MOE and MSF, consist of anti-gang talks and engagement of at-risk students in schools and boys’ homes. The Streetwise Programme provides youths found to be involved in gang activities with access to social workers for assistance and counselling.

The Police will continue to work with the schools and relevant stakeholders to reach out to youths.

33 Mr Mohd Fahmi Aliman asked the Minister for Education in view of the difficulty faced by some mature and elderly workers under the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) in accessing their past training records using Singpass, whether there are plans to develop a training records gateway, such as an online portal, whereby companies’ HR personnel can electronically retrieve their employees’ training records that show their statement of attainment of WSQ modules to facilitate checks on whether the employees meet the training requirements of the various PWMs.

Under the Progressive Wage Model (PWM), workers can move up along career pathways with wage-skill progression alongside productivity improvements. Most of the training courses for PWM come under the WSQ framework. Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents can log into their MySkillsFuture portal using Singpass to download their WSQ e-certificates. To assist our mature and elderly workers, SSG has also worked with all WSQ training providers to provide their trainees with assistance in downloading or printing their WSQ e-certificates.

Employers and HR personnel can also access and authenticate employees’ or job applicants’ WSQ e-certificates through the Enterprise Portal for Jobs & Skills. SSG will explore ways to further simplify and enhance employers’ access to their employees’ WSQ training records.

Beyond WSQ certifications, there is value in making records on training and skills attainment more easily accessible, so that individuals, together with their employers, can chart their skills progression, in tandem with their career development. Today, there is already a "Skills Passport" on the MySkillsFuture portal that records past achievements. SSG will build on the MySkillsFuture portal to develop a "journey planner" with signposting on curated courses from Institutes of Higher Learning and other training providers that informs individuals’ decisions on lifelong learning and career planning.

34 Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Minister for Manpower in measuring the success of the Overseas Networks and Expertise (ONE) Pass, whether the Ministry will take into consideration (i) the profitability and success of organisations that hire ONE Pass talents in comparison to their past performance or competitors, (ii) the maintenance or increase in the ratio of Singaporean to foreign talent in top roles and (iii) the increase in the overall number of Singaporean employees following its expansion.

We expect Overseas Networks and Expertise (ONE) Pass holders to bring in the networks, skills and expertise to help companies grow and thereby create more good jobs for Singaporeans, including in leadership positions. To this end, the indicators the Member has raised are relevant. We will monitor these indicators closely.

However, we should be mindful of the limitations of assessing the contributions of ONE Pass holders at the micro level of an individual company’s performance. A company’s profitability and hiring outcomes are affected by a wide range of factors, including individual company decisions, business cycles, sectoral trends and various regulations. To conduct a rigorous study controlling all these factors to isolate the impact of ONE Pass holders on a firm’s performance would be impractical.

Furthermore, Singapore benefits from ONE Pass holders beyond their contributions to individual companies. By anchoring them here, we seek to build a rich network of markets, people and ideas. It is, therefore, important not to just focus on these micro factors nor to let them constrain us in securing exciting opportunities for Singapore and Singaporeans at the macro level with the ONE Pass. If we grow our economy successfully, more Singaporeans will benefit from these opportunities, including at the leadership levels. Together, MOM, MTI and the economic agencies will monitor how Singapore performs at the macro level. This includes the competitiveness of our Singapore economy and the good employment outcomes for our locals.

35 Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether he can provide an update on the partnership between the Ministry and Daughters Of Tomorrow, a social service agency, to pilot a childminding service for low-income parents; (b) how many single unwed parents have used the services under this partnership; and (c) whether the services can be scaled up to benefit more single unwed parents.

MSF is partnering Daughters Of Tomorrow (DOT) to pilot a childminding service at Bedok and Punggol Community Link (ComLink) communities. This is for families living in rental housing with children aged three to nine who need care arrangements beyond the usual operating hours of childcare and student care centres.

As at end September 2022, about 30 individuals have indicated interest to be childminders and 13 families have requested for the service. Since the matching of childminders to families started in August 2022, two families have used the service, of which, one was headed by a single unwed parent. DOT is in the process of matching suitable childminders to the remaining families who have signed up.

The pilot is intended to help us assess the feasibility of such a service model.

36 Mr Saktiandi Supaat asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance in light of the recent collapse in the pound sterling and surge in the United Kingdom’s (UK) borrowing costs (a) what proportion of Singapore’s foreign asset holdings is exposed to UK gilts and pension-linked funds; and (b) whether our agencies have sufficiently diversified their UK-linked assets and pound holdings.

The Government assesses the performance of our investment entities on an overall portfolio basis over the long term, rather than that of specific investments in the short term. The Government’s mandate to our investment entities is to achieve good, long-term returns and we do not influence their specific investment decisions and exposures.

Our investment entities’ portfolios may be impacted by changes in the operating environment from time to time. They are monitoring the situation in the UK closely, just as they monitor the situations in other countries they invest in. To manage investment risks, our investment entities have globally diversified portfolios, with investment exposures across geographies, asset classes and sectors. More information can be found in their annual reports.

37 Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Health (a) whether data on the effectiveness of deploying cabin crew members from the Singapore Airlines Group to hospitals during COVID-19 have been collected; and (b) what lessons has the Ministry learnt from such deployment.

Until March 2022, MOH facilitated the temporary deployment of around 900 aviation crew from the Singapore Airlines Group as Care Ambassadors in our healthcare institutions. Our aviation crew brought to the table strong service and communication instincts, which are key to effective patient care. Their contributions helped alleviate the manpower tightness in healthcare institutions during the pandemic, allowing our nurses and other healthcare staff to focus on more complex clinical and care-related work.

Our experience with the Care Ambassadors reminds us that, with the right training, it is possible for individuals from other sectors to make meaningful contributions to healthcare. This is something MOH has been doing and we will continue to invest in mid-career training pathways for individuals interested in making a career switch into support care.

38 Mr Murali Pillai asked the Minister for National Development (a) since refining the eligibility conditions for the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (PPHS) in August 2021, how many applicants who satisfy the eligibility conditions have been unable to obtain PPHS flats; and (b) given the current tight supply of PPHS flats following the longer than usual waiting time for completion of HDB BTO flats owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, whether HDB can consider providing these applicants with flats from the public rental market or grants to enable them to rent flats directly.

Since August 2021, about 1,930 eligible families have applied for the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (PPHS). About 580 of them were invited to select a PPHS flat, of whom, about 330 selected and were allocated a flat and 250 did not select a flat when invited to do so, which suggests that they have other options. The remaining 1,350 applicants were unsuccessful in the ballot.

The demand for PPHS flats has increased significantly since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. While we are on track to increase the PPHS supply from 800 in 2021 to 1,800 in 2023, the supply remains limited and we will not be able to offer a PPHS flat to every applicant. We encourage families awaiting the completion of their new flats to seek other interim housing arrangements where possible, such as staying with their family or renting on the open market.

Not all flat buyers require assistance with interim housing, as many are able to find alternative housing arrangements on their own. Providing direct subsidies or grants for renting flats from the open market will likely induce demand and may drive up market rentals, which would be counter-productive as it makes renting more expensive. As such, we currently have no plans to provide PPHS flats from the open market or grants for open market rental.

Low-income households with no other temporary housing options can approach HDB for assistance and HDB may offer them Interim Rental Housing on a case-by-case basis.

39 Miss Rachel Ong asked the Minister for Home Affairs since banks have co-located their staff with Police at the Anti-Scam Centre (a) what is the current number of (i) known scams that have been prevented and (ii) scams involving bank transfers and withdrawals that have not been prevented; and (b) where scams have not been prevented, what are the main causes.

The initiative for banks to be co-located with Police at the Anti-Scam Centre (ASC) began in October 2019, with DBS being the first bank to station a member of staff at ASC. Subsequently, HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank and UOB joined the initiative in July 2022 and CIMB and OCBC joined in August 2022.

Usually, when a scam report is received by the Police, the scam would already have been committed and monies transferred out of the victim’s bank account. The role of co-located bank staff is to support ASC’s efforts to disrupt the scammers’ operations and prevent more victims from falling prey, as well as to facilitate recovery of funds, by providing real-time coordination and timely intervention.

Since the expansion of the co-location initiative in July 2022, till September 2022, the Police have received about 5,400 reports of scams which involved bank transfers and withdrawals. During this period, ASC froze more than 3,400 bank accounts to disrupt scammers’ operations and recover scammed monies that have not been dissipated overseas.

The vast majority of scams are perpetrated by scammers based outside Singapore. They are well-resourced, adept at using technology and employ social engineering by targeting the vulnerabilities of different groups of potential victims. In many cases, scammers transfer the scammed monies overseas quickly, through multiple financial instruments, such as bank accounts, e-wallets and cryptocurrency trading. Where monies have been transferred overseas, recovery is more difficult. We will not be able to detect and stop every scam attempt, no matter how much resources we pour in.

Therefore, the best defence is an alert and discerning public. Other than enforcement and intervention efforts, the Police have been enhancing our public education efforts to raise the level of awareness of scams, encourage members of public to take proactive steps to safeguard themselves against scams and share their knowledge with friends and family.

40 Dr Shahira Abdullah asked the Minister for National Development (a) what is the current percentage of HDB home owners who have purchased a second private property in Singapore; (b) whether the number of such HDB flat owners who own more than one property has increased in the last five years; and (c) what is the current percentage of HDB flats that are not owner-occupied and are being rented out to third parties.

HDB flat owners who have fulfilled the Minimum Occupation Period for their flats may buy private property and rent out their flats.

As at end-September 2022, about 3.3% of HDB flat owners own at least one private property. This proportion has declined by about 0.5 percentage points in the last five years.

As at end-September 2022, about 5% of HDB sold flats were rented out.

41 Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye asked the Minister for Transport (a) how many complaints related to road infrastructure have been lodged annually over the past five years; (b) of these, what is the percentage of complaints related to improper resurfaced roads after road works; and (c) how does LTA check that the roads have been properly surfaced and levelled after road works have been completed.

We have more than 9,000 lane-kilometres of road that serve over a million vehicles. Over the past five years, LTA received an average of about 10,000 feedback per year related to road defects. Of these, approximately 5% is related to the condition of the reinstated road, which can vary from being uneven to being aesthetically unpleasant. LTA follows up on this feedback and rectifies any defects found.

To ensure that roads are properly surfaced, LTA regulates road works through issuing permits, imposing conditions and conducting checks. As part of the permit conditions, the work-commissioning agency, such as utility agencies and telco companies, are required to properly reinstate roads in compliance with the standards in LTA’s Code of Practice for Works on Public Streets. This includes the levelness of the reinstated road. To ensure compliance, there are three layers of checks. First, contractors performing the works are required to engage qualified personnel to supervise the road reinstatement process. Second, the work-commissioning agency is required to ensure that the reinstatement works meet the requirements of the Code of Practice. As a third and final check, LTA also conducts ad hoc audit checks.

42 Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked the Minister for National Development (a) whether the Government will review the Executive Condominium (EC) scheme and ensure that the prices of ECs are within the reach of HDB upgraders in view of the widening gap between private property and HDB prices, without affecting the affordability of HDB flats for Singaporeans; and (b) whether there are plans to increase the supply of ECs to meet the demand.

The Executive Condominium (EC) Housing Scheme was introduced to provide an affordable option for higher-income Singaporeans who aspire to own private housing. ECs offer similar design features and facilities as private condominiums and are treated as strata-titled private housing after 10 years.

The Government has put in place various measures to ensure that ECs are priced affordably. These include initial eligibility and ownership restrictions, such as the income ceiling of $16,000 and a minimum occupation period, to prevent speculative purchases. In addition, eligible first-timer families can receive a CPF Housing Grant of up to $30,000 for their EC purchases from developers.

Since the first quarter of 2020, both the private and public housing markets have remained buoyant. The increase in housing prices reflects broad-based demand for housing, supported by the previous low interest rate environment. The Government has implemented two rounds of measures since December 2021 to moderate the housing market and encourage home buyers to exercise financial prudence in their purchases.

In particular, the following measures apply to housing loans provided by private financial institutions for EC purchases: (a) tightening of the total debt servicing ratio (TDSR) threshold from 60% to 55%; and (b) raising the medium-term interest rate floor which is used to compute TDSR and mortgage servicing ratio (MSR) by 0.5 percentage point. We expect these measures to moderate the pace of housing price increases.

In planning for the supply of ECs, the Government takes into consideration multiple factors, such as the existing unsold stock, take-up rate of the new EC units and prevailing market sentiments. We will continue to monitor the housing market conditions closely and review our housing policies to ensure that the EC Housing Scheme remains relevant in meeting the housing needs of Singaporeans. This would include adjusting the supply of future Government land sales programmes, including EC sites, as necessary.

43 Ms Joan Pereira asked the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) what should consumers do if they have consumed recalled food products; and (b) what recourse do they have if they are taken ill after consumption of the recalled products.

The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) monitors the safety of food sold in Singapore. Food products found to be non-compliant with SFA’s food safety regulations are recalled.

Consumers should stop consuming recalled food products. Those who have already consumed the recalled food products should monitor their health and seek medical advice if they fall ill or have any health concerns. Consumers should check with their respective points of purchase on their policies on refunds and reimbursement of medical expenses for illnesses associated with consuming recalled products.

44 Ms Foo Mee Har asked the Minister for National Development in light of increasing mortgage interest rates by financial institutions amidst a rising interest rate environment, whether HDB will be similarly adjusting its HDB mortgage loan rate beyond the prevailing rate of 2.6% after 31 December 2022.

The HDB concessionary interest rate has been pegged at 0.10% above the prevailing CPF Ordinary Account (OA) interest rate since 1986. This is because HDB obtains the funds to issue housing loans from the Government at the CPF OA rate and includes a spread of 0.10% to recover HDB’s cost of administering loans.

The HDB concessionary interest rate is, currently, 2.6% per annum and will remain at this level until 31 December 2022. HDB will continue to review the HDB concessionary interest rate quarterly, in tandem with the CPF OA rate reviews.

45 Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis asked the Minister for National Development (a) whether additional sites can be activated to increase the number of HDB BTO flat launches beyond the current plan to launch up to 100,000 flats in total from 2021 to 2025 should demand exceed current projections; and (b) if not, what are the constraints for not being able to do so.

Over the past two years, there has been strong, broad-based demand for housing. We see more households forming as the echo-boomer generation – those who are in their 30s today – are getting married, especially with the easing of COVID-19 measures. We also see societal trends shifting to smaller households, as young couples, singles, as well as adult children choose to buy their own homes instead of living with their parents. These aspirations for more personal space may have been accentuated by the pandemic.

HDB has taken decisive steps to meet the current strong housing demand by increasing the number of flats offered under its Build-To-Order (BTO) programme. HDB is on track to launch 23,000 flats this year, a 35% increase from the BTO supply last year, and also plans to launch 23,000 flats in 2023. We are prepared to launch up to 100,000 flats in total from 2021 to 2025, if needed. MND and HDB will continue to monitor demand closely and make the necessary adjustments to meet the housing needs of Singaporeans, especially those seeking to buy their first home.

46 Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong asked the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) what is the current self-sufficiency level for agricultural inputs; and (b) whether Singapore will consider setting a target for a level of self-sufficiency on agricultural inputs.

Farms use a wide range of agricultural inputs from diverse sources, depending on their farming models. The Singapore Food Agency is currently focused on our "30 by 30" goal to build up the capabilities and capacity to produce 30% of our nutritional needs by 2030. We have not set any targets for the self-sufficiency of agricultural inputs and it would not be practical to do so at this stage. Given the risk of supply disruptions, all businesses, including farms, should have in place business continuity plans.

47 Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Minister for National Development whether the Ministry will consider disincentivising or requiring HDB owners to sell their flat if they wish to purchase private property and to do likewise for private property owners who want to buy an HDB flat.

HDB flats are meant for owner-occupation. To reinforce this principle, HDB flat owners are not allowed to, concurrently, own any private property during the Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) of five years or more for their flat.

Nevertheless, HDB recognises that the financial position of HDB flat owners may improve over time and some may aspire to own private residential property. Hence, HDB flat owners are allowed to buy private residential property after meeting the MOP, without selling their HDB flat. Those who do not dispose of their HDB flat will be subject to Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty of at least 17% on the purchase of their second and subsequent residential property.

Currently, private property owners (PPOs) who want to buy an HDB flat are already required to dispose of their property before buying an HDB flat. This is to prioritise our limited supply of public housing for home seekers who do not own other properties. PPOs must wait out 30 months from the disposal of their property before they buy a new flat from the HDB or resale flat with the CPF Housing Grant. From 30 September 2022, PPOs must wait out 15 months from the disposal of their property before they buy a non-subsidised resale flat. This is a temporary measure to moderate demand for HDB resale flats.

The Government will continue to monitor the housing market conditions closely to ensure that Singaporeans have access to affordable public housing.

48 Mr Mohd Fahmi Aliman asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is the number of armed robberies in the past five years; (b) what are the existing measures put in place to deter and prevent armed robberies in financial establishments located in heartland areas; and (c) whether additional measures will be implemented moving forward.

From January 2018 to August 2022, there were 43 armed robberies, or an average of nine per year. The number of such cases has decreased, from 14 in 2018 to eight in 2021.

Under the Penal Code 1871, an individual convicted of robbery armed with a deadly weapon is liable for imprisonment between two years and 14 years and, if eligible for caning, not fewer than 12 strokes. The heavy punishment serves to deter potential offenders.

It is recognised that establishments with cash on premises, including banks, could be a more likely target for robbers. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), therefore, expects banks to put in place appropriate security measures. Measures deployed by banks include closed-circuit television system, electronic access control for restricted areas, intrusion detection systems, panic alarms or kick-bars and armed security personnel.

Other financial establishments have also put in place similar measures to prevent and deter armed robberies.

The Singapore Police Force will continue to monitor the crime situation and implement relevant anti-crime measures as appropriate.

49 Mr Murali Pillai asked the Minister for Social and Family Development whether the Public Guardian may be vested with the power to administer low value estates of individuals who have not made Lasting Powers of Attorney and lack mental capacities, so as to provide more cost-effective solutions for families of these individuals to manage their affairs instead of making applications to Court to be appointed as deputies.

The Mental Capacity Act (MCA) provides for the appointment of donees or deputies to manage the property and affairs of individuals who lack mental capacity. Under MCA, the Public Guardian is responsible for dealing with representations, including complaints, about the way in which donees or deputies exercise their powers. Hence, it would not be appropriate for the Public Guardian to also manage the property and affairs of individuals who have not made a Lasting Power of Attorney and have lost their mental capacity. To do so would put the Public Guardian in a position of conflict of interest.

To make applying for deputyship more affordable for families, the Family Justice Courts has introduced a Simplified Track since 2019. Family members applying for general orders through the Simplified Track typically ask for and are granted powers to consent to medical and dental treatment, care arrangements and manage bank/CPF accounts and insurance policies. The cost of the Simplified Track is around $540, comprising a $40 Court filing fee and around $500 for mental capacity assessment, based on the fees charged by public hospitals. This is much lower than applying for complex orders through the Standard Track, which will incur both a higher Court fee of up to $300, as well as legal fees charged by lawyers of between $3,000 and $9,000.

Additionally, to support families in need, MSF works with partners to facilitate access to probono or low-cost services. Such families can seek legal assistance from the Legal Aid Bureau or support from the Community Justice Centre (a charity), if they are applying for deputyship without representation of a lawyer.

50 Mr Seah Kian Peng asked the Prime Minister with the recent changes to remuneration for civil servants (a) what is the projected ratio of the annual total compensation of the top earners against the lowest ones; and (b) whether there is a target ratio that the Government hopes to attain.

The Government does not compare the annual total compensation of top earners against the lowest earners within the Civil Service nor do we set a target ratio for doing so.

Such a comparison is not meaningful because the Civil Service employs officers in diverse job roles across many different sectors and we benchmark pay against comparable industries in the private sector. A comparison of the top and lowest earners within the Civil Service would not be reflective of the differences in benchmarks and level of talent competition across industries.

The remuneration package of leaders and officers also reflect different job scopes and it is unclear what the ratio between a top earner and a lower earner would represent. At the leadership level, even though compensation is benchmarked against comparable top jobs in the private sector, we have chosen not to close salary gaps to the same extent. This reflects the ethos of public service that our leaders undertake.

Nevertheless, the Civil Service continues to support progressive wage approaches. For example, we uplift the wages of our junior officers by according to them higher adjustments as part of the recent salary adjustments. When determining our Annual Variable Component (AVC) payments, officers in the junior grades have received a higher payment as a proportion of their salaries. Beyond wage changes, we also work closely with unions to redesign jobs and to identify and address training needs so that productivity gains are commensurate with wage increases.

51 Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling asked the Minister for Education (a) whether there are plans to build more formal curriculum to educate students in areas of space technology and nuclear technology; and (b) whether exchange programmes can be facilitated to further their interests overseas.

In schools, the curriculum builds strong fundamentals in the subject disciplines to enable students to understand our world and pursue diverse courses in higher education. In science, students learn about gravity and the motion of satellites, as well as the medical and industrial applications of nuclear radiation. Students are also introduced to applications of emerging technologies and how they impact humanity.

For students who wish to pursue a career or further their studies in space or nuclear technology, the Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) enable them to gain the practical and research skills required via courses and modules in areas, such as physics, AI, robotics, materials science or engineering. For example, NUS offers a minor in Medical Physics, which provides students with a foundation in the application of nuclear technology in medicine and healthcare. The Singapore Nuclear Research and Safety Initiative (SNRSI) in NUS also offers scholarships to Singapore students to pursue postgraduate studies at top international universities to build up Singapore’s expertise in fields related to nuclear technology and radiological safety.

52 Ms Mariam Jaafar asked the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) what is the total number of high-rise littering feedback received by NEA in 2021; (b) how long does NEA currently take to investigate high-rise littering cases; and (c) whether the Ministry can provide an update on its review of the suggestion on changing the law such that the liability for such cases is automatically assumed to lie with the owners or registered tenants of the particular unit where high-rise littering had occurred.

High-rise littering is a serious offence, as it poses a danger to the public, dirties the environment and potentially threatens our public hygiene. NEA adopts a holistic approach in tackling high-rise littering, which includes enforcement, surveillance and public education to influence behaviour and cultivate good habits.

When feedback on high-rise littering is reported to NEA, NEA will work with the relevant Town Council to issue advisories to residents in the affected building stack and gather relevant information on the suspected units. For persistent cases and where NEA has gathered sufficient leads, surveillance cameras with video analytics will be deployed at appropriate vantage points to monitor the suspected units in the relevant building stack and record acts of high-rise littering for investigation and enforcement.

Since 2020, NEA has enhanced its interventions to better tackle high-rise littering and resolve cases expeditiously. These include substantially increasing the number of high-rise littering camera deployments and streamlining investigation processes for swifter enforcement action against offenders. There has been some success, as the average time taken to resolve cases was reduced by about 25% from 2019 to 2021.

However, feedback on high-rise littering has continued to outpace our efforts to enhance capabilities and measures. Prior to 2019, an average of 16,000 feedback cases were received each year. From 2019 to 2021, the feedback had increased to 22,000, 35,000 and 32,000 cases respectively.

Investigation into high-rise littering cases remains resource-intensive and time-consuming despite our best efforts. Effort is needed to gather information to guide camera deployments and, subsequently, identify the high-rise littering offender. Depending on the complexity of the case, NEA, generally, takes 10 weeks to six months to enforce against an offender, from the time the high-rise littering act is successfully captured by surveillance cameras. Often, our surveillance cameras were unable to capture the incidence of high-rise littering. There are also many cases where, despite our best efforts, the offender cannot be identified even if there is evidence of high-rise littering being committed from a particular flat. Based on the high-rise littering cases investigated in 2019 to 2021, the identity of the offender could not be identified in about 15% of the cases, on average.

We, therefore, need to consider alternative approaches to better address high-rise littering, including having residents take stronger ownership in preventing such acts from their homes.

I thank the Member for her suggestion to introduce legislation to impose liability for high-rise littering on the owners or tenants of the particular unit where the high-rise littering is proven to have been committed. My Ministry will consider how such a law can be applied with proper safeguards, consult relevant stakeholders, including the public, and ensure that the law is applied judiciously.

53 Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) whether the Ministry collects data on high-rise cigarette butt littering cases specifically; (b) if so, whether the surveillance cameras deployed by NEA at HDB blocks have been effective in catching offenders of these cases; (c) how many offenders of high-rise cigarette butt littering have been caught in each of the last three years and in 2022; and (d) whether NEA will be looking at other technologies, such as DNA testing, to identify the culprits.

NEA takes a serious view of high-rise littering, including that of cigarette butts, which dirties the environment, could be challenging to clear and poses a potential fire hazard.

In the past four years, 54% of total high-rise littering offences enforced by NEA were for high-rise cigarette butt littering. Of these, about 95% were caught on the surveillance cameras deployed. Enforcement actions were taken against about 400 high-rise cigarette butt littering offenders per year between 2019 and 2021. From January 2022 to September 2022, enforcement actions were taken against close to 130 offenders.

DNA testing is not being considered for high-rise littering enforcement. Matching DNA evidence from the cigarette butt to a specific offender would require the collection of DNA information from selected residents in the implicated building stack or unit and raise significant privacy concerns. NEA will continue to study other approaches and technologies to address high-rise littering.

54 Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye asked the Minister for Transport whether the Government will regulate the idle fees charged by electric vehicle (EV) charging providers to ensure that there is a right balance between discouraging the hogging of EV chargers and the unfair penalisation and profiteering by EV charging providers.

The EV charging industry in Singapore is nascent but will see rapid growth over the next few years, in tandem with increasing EV adoption. LTA will closely monitor the evolving behaviour of EV users, as well as the business practices of the EV charging operators (EVCOs), including the use of idle fees, to deter hogging. As we gain greater experience from implementation, LTA will work with the EVCOs and EV users to build a fair and considerate charging culture in Singapore, which will facilitate the optimal utilisation of the overall charging network, to the benefit of everyone.

55 Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling asked the Prime Minister (a) whether the Government monitors the performance of relationship managers in bancassurance; and (b) what recourse is available for clients who have insufficient guidance or are misled by them.

Financial institutions and their representatives are required under the Financial Advisers Act and the Insurance Act to ensure proper conduct when selling investment and insurance products to customers.

For example, (a) before representatives are allowed to conduct such activities, they must be assessed by their financial institutions to be fit and proper and must pass the relevant examinations in product knowledge; (b) when providing financial advice, a representative is required to make recommendations that suit their customers' needs and financial circumstances; and (c) they must also clearly communicate to their customers key information on product features, relevant fees and charges, as well as the associated risks. These include the risk of investment losses and the cost of surrendering an insurance policy early.

Financial institutions are required to investigate complaints and report to MAS misconduct committed by their representatives. MAS will engage financial institutions to remediate any weaknesses observed in advisory and sales practices. MAS will also investigate and take firm enforcement actions against errant representatives. These include issuing prohibition orders to bar representatives who commit serious offences, such as mis-selling, from working in the financial industry for a specified period of time.

Customers can seek recourse through their financial institutions and the Financial Industry Disputes Resolution Centre (FIDReC), an independent institution established by MAS.

In sum, financial institutions have a duty to safeguard the interests of their customers. MAS has been working with the industry to promote fair dealing and ethical conduct. The banking and insurance industry associations have also established steering groups to strengthen culture and conduct and improve sales and advisory standards. MAS will continue to work closely with financial institutions, their board and senior management, as well as industry associations, to maintain trust in the financial sector.

57 Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis asked the Minister for National Development in each of the past five years to date, what is (i) the average number of HDB units which are unoccupied and (ii) the percentage of completed HDB units which are unoccupied, based on definitions of property vacancies consistent with those of private residential properties as defined by URA.

Over the past five years, the annual average number of unoccupied HDB units ranged from about 1,400 to 3,900. These units make up approximately 0.1% to 0.4% of completed flats. These details of vacant HDB flats were given in this House on 4 October 2021 and 13 September 2022, in response to the hon Member’s respective questions filed.

58 Mr Desmond Choo asked the Minister for Transport in view of our ageing population, how can the Government ensure that wheelchair-accessible vehicular services are affordable, including reducing COE costs of vehicles for services operated by non-profit organisations.

Our transport system serves all Singaporeans. So, indeed, it is the Ministry’s priority that our transport system is inclusive, including for seniors and persons with disabilities (PwDs).

First, we have made public transport more inclusive and accessible. Today, all public buses and trains are wheelchair-accessible. All MRT and LRT stations and bus interchanges have at least one barrier-free access route. There are also point-to-point transport services which provide wheelchair-accessible vehicles. All taxis can fit foldable wheelchairs in their boots. Taxi and private hire car operators also have vehicles that can accommodate motorised wheelchairs, which cannot be folded. We will continue to look at ways to improve the public transport system to make it more seamless for those who are wheelchair users.

Second, there is also financial support provided by various Government agencies. For public transport, seniors and PwDs enjoy concessionary fares of up to 55% off adult fares per journey and can purchase a monthly concession pass at half the price of an adult monthly travel pass. For other private transport services supporting PwDs, MSF has the Taxi Subsidy Scheme (TSS) to subsidise taxi and private hire vehicle trips for eligible PwDs, and the Enabling Transport Subsidy (ETS) Scheme to subsidise dedicated transport, including private buses and vans, to Special Education Schools and community-based programmes. Eligible PwDs who require assistance in travelling to medical appointments may also tap on the subsidised Medical Escort and Transport service under MOH.

Lastly, for seniors and PwDs who are unable to use the various forms of public transport unassisted, MSF also administers the Certificate of Entitlement (COE) Grant Scheme. Eligible non-profit organisations can apply for this to subsidise the cost of COE and Additional Registration Fee for commercial vehicles used to transport elderly or PwD clients who are unable to use public transport unassisted.

59 Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for Health in each year since 2016 (a) how many Singaporean students studying medicine overseas have applied for the Pre-Employment Grant (PEG); (b) how many of these are approved; (c) what is the median grant amount; (d) what are the main reasons for the rejected applications; and (e) whether the Ministry will consider increasing the number of PEGs so as to attract more Singaporean doctors to return home after their studies to serve in the healthcare sector.

We are encouraging Singaporeans who study medicine in recognised overseas universities to return home to contribute to our healthcare system.

The Pre-Employment Grant (PEG) was introduced in 2010 for this purpose. In recent years, an average of 120 students have been awarded PEG annually. The median grant amount is about $80,000 per student over two years.

The number and percentage of successful applicants vary from year to year, depending on each year’s applicant pool and hiring demand among the public healthcare institutions. All applicants are assessed holistically, based on a range of factors, including their overall academic performance, professionalism and commitment to serve in the public healthcare system.

60 Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) how many shipyards in Singapore are actively performing building, conversion or repair works for vessels; and (b) how does the Government regulate sound sustainability practices in ship building, design and retrofitting to ensure these are consistently carried out in our shipyards.

We do not specifically track the number of shipyards in Singapore that are actively performing building, conversion or repair works on vessels. However, there are, currently, 70 shipyards registered with MPA where vessels calling at them enjoy port dues concession.

The Singapore Government is working closely with the industry to equip the sector with the skills and capacity to decarbonise and seize opportunities in the green economy, such as in offshore renewable energy and the electrification of vessels. Together with the Association of Singapore Marine Industries (ASMI), we have developed several sustainability initiatives, including courses to encourage shipyard operators to reduce their emissions.

A*STAR has also dedicated funds for R&D efforts in key areas of opportunity, such as offshore renewable energy, marine electrification, cleaner fuels supply chain and smart ocean systems.

To upskill the marine workforce, Workforce Singapore (WSG) offers career conversion programmes (CCPs) for marine and sustainability professionals to build their capabilities in sustainable practices.

61 Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the new Code of Practice on Chief Executives’ and Board of Directors’ Workplace Safety and Health Duties will require company management to implement systems to ensure the safety of transport for workers to their worksites; (b) if it does, what safety standards are companies required to meet in terms of transport safety; and (c) if not, why not.

The Code of Practice (COP) sets out guidance on measures that company directors should take to uphold their workplace safety and health (WSH) duties under the WSH Act. These duties include the safe transport of workers. COP allows the company to determine how best this can be done and to put in place management systems to review its policies and processes.

62 Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked the Prime Minister (a) how many Singaporeans and Permanent Residents have registered for PayNow, Scan and Pay or similar cashless payment platforms that are currently available in the market; (b) what is the average percentage use of each of these platforms since their launch; (c) how many scam cases involving Scan and Pay transactions have been reported to date; and (d) what are the measures taken to prevent perpetrators from victimising Scan and Pay users.

There are now nearly 5.5 million bank accounts registered with PayNow. Of these, three million are linked to mobile phone numbers, two million linked to NRIC numbers, and half a million linked to Foreign Identification Numbers (FINs). Usage of PayNow, including payments to merchants and businesses, reached S$46 billion in 2021.

SGQR is the primary means for Scan and Pay to merchants in Singapore. Launched by MAS and IMDA in 2018, it is the world’s first standard for a unified payment QR code, allowing multiple payment schemes to be combined into a single SGQR label. SGQR’s participating payment schemes include widely used schemes, such as PayNow, Dash, FavePay and GrabPay. PayNow is the top payment scheme in SGQR and is accepted in more than half of the total SGQR labels in use island-wide.

The adoption of SGQR has helped to make e-payments safer for merchants who only need to maintain a single SGQR label and guard it against tampering. Currently, more than 210,000 merchants operating across various service industries, including retail stores in shopping malls and food stalls at hawker centres, offer SGQR as a means of payment acceptance. This accounts for over 90% of merchants in Singapore.

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) has been monitoring scam cases where fake payment QR codes were generated to divert payments meant for legitimate merchants. There have also been cases where legitimate merchants were defrauded by persons who were meant to make Scan and Pay transactions but did not do so. Based on data provided by SPF, both scam types are not prevalent. From 2020 to the first half of 2022, there were a total of 20 cases reported.

MAS has stepped up efforts to educate both consumers and merchants on using e-payments safely. In addition to general e-payment consumer guides on the MoneySENSE website, the MAS webpage on SGQR contains safety practices for consumers. Consumers should check the merchant’s name on their payment app against the name displayed on the SGQR label after scanning the QR code to make sure that they are paying the intended merchant. The SGQR membership rules also require its merchant acquirers to educate merchants on how to verify payments received through the SGQR label and to protect the label against potential fraud.

Under the "Seniors Go Digital" programme, less digitally savvy individuals, including seniors, are trained in basic digital skills, such as transacting online and making e-payments. Seniors are also taught about cyber risks and threats and how to keep themselves safe online. This is done through one-to-one lessons at SG Digital community hubs located in selected community clubs and public libraries around the island.

MAS continues to work closely with the industry and other Government agencies to review and enhance the suite of anti-scam measures, including scams committed via Scan and Pay mode. Any persons found involved in scams and frauds will be dealt with firmly in accordance with the law. Consumers should remain vigilant to ensure they are making payments to the intended merchants.

63 Mr Leon Perera asked the Minister for Education (a) how many students does the Moot Parliament Programme (MPP) take in each year; (b) what is the rationale for limiting MPP participation only to Year 3 and Year 4 students from schools offering School-based Gifted Education or the Integrated Programme; and (c) whether the Ministry will consider expanding MPP to allow participation from more schools.

The Moot Parliament Programme (MPP) seeks to develop students’ interest in parliamentary legislation and develop active citizenry. The programme is open to upper Secondary students in IP schools.

About 200 students take part in MPP each year. The size of this programme is a function of the availability of quality mentors and participants.

MPP is but one offering amongst a wide portfolio of available programmes that promote active citizenry. Other than in the formal curriculum through subjects, such as Social Studies, there are also many school-based and community-based programmes, such as Model United Nations Conferences and Pre-University Seminar, that raise awareness of social issues and encourage community service. Collectively, these provide a range of options accessible to students across schools.

64 Mr Seah Kian Peng asked the Minister for Manpower in light of new migrant worker dormitories to be built by the Government (a) whether such a move will crowd out private operators; and (b) what are the reasons for the Government venturing into what appears to be private sector space.