Hansard, Tuesday, 7 February 2017

1 Dr Tan Wu Meng asked the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry can provide an update on investigations into the recent termination of multiple employees of Surbana Jurong.

2 Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong asked the Minister for Manpower (a) what constitutes due and fair process in terminating employees due to poor performance; (b) what recourse do employees have to access crucial evidence on performance held by employers to prove unfair dismissal; and (c) what are the penalties for employers who disguise retrenchment as termination due to poor performance.

Mdm Speaker, may I have your permission to take Question Nos 1 and 2 together, please.

Yes, please.

Mdm Speaker, employers who terminate employment contracts on the ground of poor performance have to be able to substantiate their claim of poor performance. The Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices make it clear that employers who wish to terminate the services of employees on the ground of poor performance are to apply relevant and objective performance criteria. The criteria should be made known to all employees. Employers should also keep records of their employees' performance and a decision to terminate the service of an employee should be based on documented poor performance. The key word is "documented". Where it involves a unionised employee, the union should also be consulted.

If the employee files an appeal of unfair dismissal to MOM, we will first mediate. Should mediation fail, we will conduct an inquiry and require the employer to show cause and produce evidence to justify the termination. This remedy is provided under the Employment Act, as well as the Industrial Relations Act for union members.

If an employer is unable to substantiate his claim that the employee's performance is poor, the employer may be ordered to reinstate the employee or to provide compensation. If the employer does not comply with the order, he can be prosecuted.

In the case of Surbana Jurong's recent exercise to terminate the services of 54 employees, the company has acknowledged that the process could have been better managed. The management and unions have since reached an agreement on an ex-gratia payment which, in our view, is a fair outcome for the affected employees.

This episode serves as a good reminder to employers that termination exercises should be conducted in a responsible and sensitive manner.

I thank the Minister for Manpower for his comprehensive answer. Big companies have a certain footprint, especially those which are linked to the Government or doing significant business with the public sector. How can we strengthen human resource best practices in such companies and are there lessons which can be applied more broadly from what happened in Surbana?

Mdm Speaker, I agree fully with the Member. As far as MOM is concerned, we expect all companies to behave in a responsible manner, especially the major employers, whether it is a GLC, MNC, large local enterprise or, for that matter, public services. MOM does expect all companies, but especially major employers, to conduct their HR practices in a responsible and progressive manner.

In this particular case, we are certainly concerned that a major employer could commit such an HR practice lapse. Looking forward, TAFEP is stepping up efforts to engage the employers out there, including the major ones. Members may be pleased to know that, last year, I talked about our plan to set up a programme known as the "Human Capital Partnership Programme", which is to reach out to employers, especially the major ones, to work together to value our precious human resources in a more responsive, sensitive, constructive manner. That programme will be launched quite soon, within the next few weeks.

I would hope that, in time to come, we can continue to reach out to more employers, especially the larger employers, so that mistakes such as this need not happen again in the future.

Mdm Speaker, I thank the Minister. In the case of Surbana, was documented evidence given to the employees of their poor performance? And do the employees have recourse to ask the employers for evidence, if they are not given the evidence? Are the employers obliged to give the evidence? Thirdly, does MOM step in when it comes to this kind of mass terminations where you have large numbers of people being laid off due to poor performance? Do they come in to investigate even if there are no reports of unfair dismissal by the employees?

Mdm Speaker, firstly, there is no need for the employees to have access to the documented proof. As long as an employee feels that he has been dismissed unfairly, he can just come to MOM. In other words, he does not need the cooperation of the employer. Just come to MOM and we will require the employer to produce the documented proof, failing which we will rule it as an unfair dismissal.

Secondly, termination exercises happen within the purview of the companies. MOM will come in only when either the union brings it to our attention or the affected employees come to MOM. This has been the approach because it is not possible for MOM to investigate whenever there is a termination exercise, big or small.

A question for the Minister: would MOM consider having tripartite guidelines for mass terminations, similar to those that we have for mass retrenchments?

Mdm Speaker, certainly. The tripartite partners have been and will continue to issue various HR guidelines for progressive HR practices. We will continue to widen the scope. The tripartite partners are also in the process right now of formulating something beyond guidelines. Hopefully, come the time for the Committee of Supply (COS) debate, I will be able to share with this House on how we can strengthen progressive HR practices in our HR community.

Mdm Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister: for this case involving Surbana Jurong terminating the 54 workers, they were labelled poor performers. With this label, it is very difficult for them or it would be an additional challenge for them to find the next job. I would like to ask MOM: if they need help, is MOM going to help them to find their next job?

Mdm Speaker, I share the concern of the Member. I spent many years with the Labour Movement and now with MOM. To the best of my recollection, this is the first time that an employer has conducted such a major termination exercise and to declare publicly and to label the workers as poor performers. This is something that, as the Manpower Minister, I do not find acceptable. If the performance of the employees is not up to the mark, there could be contributing factors on the part of the employers as well. In other words, performance management should be a joint responsibility of employees and employers.

In most organisations, if it reaches such a stage whereby the employees and employers can no longer continue the working relationship, they will find a way to go separate ways, but you do not label the person publicly. The management realises this as well and that is why they publicly acknowledged that the way they conducted the exercise could have been much better managed.

I hope to make clear to all employers out there that when it comes to performance management, do it responsibly and, at the same time, do it sensitively. I hope that we will not come across another case where a company does a major termination and labels the employees as poor performers publicly. At the end of the day, yes, it may be poor performance in one organisation, but it does not mean a person cannot do well in other places. As I had mentioned, the work environment, HR practices and so on are also contributing factors.

3 Mr Low Thia Khiang asked the Minister for National Development what is the pricing mechanism of Build-To-Order (BTO) flats compared to unsold BTO flats released under a Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercise that results in the BTO price for the same flat exceeding the SBF price in some cases and not in others.

Mdm Speaker, new HDB flats offered under the BTO and SBF exercises are priced using the same methodology, which takes into account the prices of comparable resale flats in the vicinity, as well as the specific attributes of the flats, such as storey height and design.

However, the prices of SBF units may differ from that in the BTO exercise for several reasons. First, the SBF price may be slightly higher as the units are closer to completion. Second, the SBF prices may also be updated if there is a change in prevailing market conditions. For example, in cases where the prices of comparable resale flats in the vicinity have softened since the time of the BTO launch, the prices of balance flats may be lower than their original BTO prices.

Regardless of whether the flats are sold under BTO or SBF exercises, HDB gives a generous market discount to ensure that new flats are affordable to buyers. On top of the subsidised prices, eligible first-timer families can also receive up to $80,000 in housing grants to help them purchase their flats.

A clarification for the Minister. People understand, generally, that SBF flat prices are generally higher than BTO prices. But there are cases where SBF prices were lower, for instance, for the Punggol estate's Matilda Edge project. Some units were quite significantly lower in prices during the SBF exercise in 2016, compared to the BTO prices in 2013. Certain units at the lower floors were actually lower in price.

So, the question now is: under what circumstances and considerations does HDB lower the price and, by doing so, is it fair to those who had bought the BTO flats in the same cluster?

Madam, first of all we should compare like for like. As I had mentioned, pricing can differ due to various reasons − a higher floor unit will be more expensive than a lower floor unit, and there are different characteristics of location as well.

So, let us take all of that aside. Because if you take all of that aside, and you take, say, an SBF unit and a BTO unit in the same block, same floor, most of the time, they will be similar. But there may be instances, as I have explained earlier, where the SBF unit is sold at a later stage and if, indeed, the market has softened − it does not happen very often because our market is generally quite stable − but if indeed market conditions have softened, then HDB may sell that SBF unit at a later stage, due to market conditions, if the general market has softened, it may be sold at a slightly lower price than the original BTO price. That is the reason that I have stated earlier.

I think that is fair to all home buyers because the transaction is done at the point of sale. If the market has come down, then we charge it at a slightly lower price. This is not a new practice. We have been doing it all this while. BTO batch by BTO batch, sometimes the prices differ because of market conditions. Balance flats, as the market adjusts, we also update the pricing. This has been the practice of HDB's pricing all this while.

4 Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked the Minister for National Development (a) in the past five years, what is the rate of rejection by applicants who are invited to select a flat for the sale of BTO flats or sale of balance flats exercise; (b) what are the top three reasons given for the rejection; (c) what is the period of time taken to complete inviting all applicants to select their flats; and (d) whether HDB will allow interested and unsuccessful applicants to stay in the queue to select a flat.

Madam, between 2012 and 2016, about two in five applicants who had been invited to select a flat under a Build-To-Order (BTO) or Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercise did not proceed to book a flat.

The top three reasons given by these invited flat applicants were that their preferred units had been taken up, they would like to apply for flats in other sales exercises, or they had changed their minds and would like to consider other housing options.

HDB shortlists flat applicants up to 300% of the flat supply. Depending on the flat supply and application rate, the average time taken to complete the selection of a BTO exercise and a SBF exercise is around six months and 10 months respectively. It takes longer for the SBF because the units are typically more spread out, more diverse, so more time taken to complete the SBF exercise. Flats which are not booked will be consolidated for offer in future SBF exercises.

Flat applicants who are not shortlisted are informed that they are not successful. This allows them to make alternative housing plans, such as applying in the next BTO or SBF sales launches, or buying a resale flat on the open market. HDB has found this to be a better arrangement than having unsuccessful applicants stay in the queue, as the applicants may then end up having to wait for an even longer period of time, without any certainty that the flats will be available.

5 Mr Leon Perera asked the Minister for National Development whether motorists can be allowed to use the old parking coupons at pro-rated rates.

Mdm Speaker, we have studied the option and concluded that there is no need to do so. Instead, we have ensured that there is adequate supply of parking coupons for exchange at the majority of petrol stations, as well as at HDB branches and at the URA. At the same time, enforcement officers on the ground are issuing advisory notices and not parking offence notices, to motorists who may have overlooked the change and still use the old coupons during this transition period.

HDB and URA have been actively monitoring the sale and exchange of coupons. After an initial peak period in the first week of December when the new rates took effect, the volume of sale and exchange of coupons has decreased significantly and has now stabilised.

Mdm Speaker, I thank the Senior Minister of State for his reply. I would like to ask: what are the reasons the review concluded that allowing motorists to use old coupons at pro-rated rates was not a more efficient solution?

I would also like to ask a second supplementary question: in future, whether there can be the option of allowing the old supply of coupons to be used up in the market and simply replaced? This means, old coupons will not be issued anymore and new coupons being issued, rather than requiring motorists to actually go into petrol stations and convenience stores and so on, to do an exchange, because that creates hassle for the motorists and also creates an administrative burden.

I thank the Member for his feedback. Many people have already changed and exchanged their coupons. During this transition period, we have issued advisories, rather than offence notices. So, it is better to operationally cart over to the new parking coupons.

The Member's other point is for the future. In fact, HDB and URA plan to eventually phase out coupon parking altogether. Both agencies have been progressively converting car parks from coupon-based parking to Electronic Parking Systems (EPS). As of December 2016, out of 2,104 public off-street car parks managed by both HDB and URA, 1,537 or 73% are already operating under the EPS.

However, on-street car parks, such as kerb-side parking with site constraints, and car parks affected by impending redevelopment, are not suitable for EPS operations. For these car parks, HDB and URA are exploring the use of new parking technology to bring greater convenience to motorists.

So, his suggestion about, if in future, there needs to be any change, that old coupons should be allowed to be used, we hope technology will replace all of that.

6 Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng asked the Minister for Social and Family Development why there are three occupants in a 1-room rental unit in Senior Group Homes instead of the standard number of two occupants under the typical HDB rental housing scheme.

7 Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng asked the Minister for Social and Family Development whether the Ministry will consider extending the Senior Group Home scheme to suitable adults with special needs whose families are no longer around or able to look after them.

Mdm Speaker, the Senior Group Home model supports frail elderly–”

Minister, do you want to take the next two questions together?

Sorry. Mdm Speaker, may I have your permission to take the next two questions together?

I give my permission.

Thank you. The Senior Group Home model supports frail elderly in rental flats to age within the community and delay premature institutionalisation of these seniors.

The objective is that each Senior Group Home would be located in a public rental block and typically comprises six to eight rental flats which can accommodate 12 to 18 seniors. The Senior Group Home is an assisted living model where seniors can live independently in the community and provide mutual support to one another. They are paired with their room-mates as buddies and they help to look out for each other. The number of seniors per unit is determined by the rental unit's configuration, the seniors' mobility status and the use of assistive devices, such as a wheelchair.

Having three seniors staying together raises the level of mutual support, which is important as Senior Group Homes are not designed to provide round-the-clock care. Such a configuration also takes into account the eventual demand for places as our population ages. But having said that, the Senior Group Home operators are also learning from the actual experience. This is a relatively new set-up that we have put in place and we will look at feedback and what we are learning from it. As we operationalise the scheme, if necessary, we will make adjustments along the way.

Seniors with special needs who are eligible for HDB public rental housing and are also suitable for communal living can be supported in the Senior Group Home. There are currently visually-impaired seniors in the Senior Group Homes. The Senior Group Homes are unable to support adults with moderate disabilities as there is no round-the-clock supervision.

For adults with special needs whose families are no longer able to look after them, MSF will take their care needs into account and help to site them in the appropriate residential setting, such as an adult disability home.

Mdm Speaker, I thank the Minister for his responses. I have actual feedback from residents who are living in these Senior Group Homes or assisted living models that the arrangement where there are three tenants in one rental flat vs two tenants in a typical rental unit is really very crowded, especially, as the Minister has said, if wheelchairs are involved, and in the sharing of common facilities like the toilet in the rental unit. So, I would really appreciate it if the Minister could take a look and examine this model again to see if this can just be on par with the occupancy number in a typical HDB rental flat and when it can be done.

For the next question, feedback received on the Senior Group Home as an assisted living model is actually very good. I would like to ask the Minister to see if it can formally develop and incorporate this as one of the additional models in the continuum of residential living for adults with special needs, and not just seniors. And also to ask when the Minister can look into this and give us a response in the sector.

Third, there is also review that the current outcome of the Senior Group Home scheme does not seem to be as popular or as favourable as expected when it was first conceived and launched. Perhaps the Minister would like to share his views on this.

Mdm Speaker, I would like to thank the Member for the supplementary questions and clarifications.

Firstly, with regard to occupancy numbers, I have visited the Senior Group Homes and have also spoken to the residents there. I understand the concerns with regard to flat size. The flats do vary in size and layout, and also, when there are wheelchairs and walking aids involved as well, we will have to take that into consideration.

The idea is this: in a regular rental flat, you have two people living in the flat and these are largely able-bodied individuals. The Senior Group Homes are meant for those who need some assistance and we feel that, with three, there might be the possibility of providing better mutual support. But having said that, we are taking on board various feedback and we are completely open to reviewing this. This is ongoing.

Secondly, adults with special needs. So, not only just for the elderly, but whether this is a possible model for adults with special needs. This is something that we are open to look at. As mentioned, for the elderly space, we are looking at a whole range of different possibilities. Some of these ideas may or may not work, but we want to try them because the numbers will be quite significant. Managing of numbers and space allocation would be important, but we will experiment with the different possibilities.

For the special needs sector, not just for the elderly, as the Member mentioned, for adults with special needs, we will be quite happy to explore what are some of these options that we think might be useful for adults with special needs and whose families may not be able to look after them. We will be quite happy to engage the Member if she has specific ideas. Let us see where that goes.

Lastly, in terms of the outcomes for the Senior Group Homes model, why does it not seem quite so popular? Well, it is relatively new. We reckon that there is a possible need for the Senior Group Homes, but the take-up rate has not been overwhelming. We do have spare spaces, but that could be the result of this being a relatively new sort of arrangement that we are putting in place. We are looking at this to review whether we need to adjust it; whether a better model needs to be put in place.

It is still early days yet. We are reviewing, together with MOH, the range of possibilities. It is not all cast in stone. We are open to new ideas as well, because I think providing support for our ageing population in various forms and at various stages of their own ageing process is very important. So, this is something that will be reviewed.

8 Dr Chia Shi-Lu asked the Minister for Transport (a) whether all taxis are equipped with airbags, particularly for the front seats; (b) if not, which taxi companies have not done so; and (c) whether the Ministry intends to make the installation mandatory in line with international road safety standards.

9 Mr Ang Hin Kee asked the Minister for Transport whether the Ministry will consider making it mandatory for all vehicles which provide hire and reward services to be installed with safety devices and safety features to avoid incidents that compromise road safety for their passengers and road users.

Mdm Speaker, may I take Question Nos 8 and 9 together?

Yes, please.

We impose the same safety requirements on taxis and private hire cars as on private cars. Seat belts for the driver and front and back seat passengers are mandatory. However, we have not made airbags mandatory, as they are generally considered by the industry to be a supporting feature to supplement seat belts. If seat belts are used properly, the injury risks to passengers are already greatly reduced. There is no international agreement on norms on the installation of airbags.

Nevertheless, all the taxi companies in Singapore have taken the initiative to procure taxis with airbags when expanding or renewing their fleet. Today, about 70% of all taxis in Singapore are equipped with airbags, compared to about 23% five years ago.

Thank you, Minister, for the update. There are also privately-leased cars in the market today that are being used for private hire purposes. For new fleets that are coming on board, how would the Ministry ensure that they will also install similar features, whether it be airbags or other features that enhance safety. And in the implementation process, how do you balance the cost issue versus the safety issue, so that the cost will not be passed on to the commuters or the drivers who lease the vehicle in a manner that makes it impractical for them to do so?

When operators renew or expand their fleet, new cars usually come with airbags. This cost is already incorporated into the price of a car and, therefore, it is a part of the business cost.

When we talk about retrofitting airbags into existing cars, then that is a different proposition as that comes with more technical and cost challenges. We should allow time to take its natural course so that old cars in our system will eventually be phased out and all new cars will have airbags.

10 Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong asked the Prime Minister in light of the merging of career tracks for graduate and non-graduate civil servants (a) whether different educational qualifications affect compensation, starting pay, training, career progression and exposure for individuals at the same grade; (b) whether civil servants who are recipients of Government or Statutory Board scholarships have compensation, starting pay, training, career progression and exposure that are different from other civil servants; and (c) how does the Current Estimated Potential model take educational attainment into account.

Page: 14

Madam, the objective of merging the career tracks for graduates and non-graduates is to equalise opportunities for career progression and development.

At the entry level, officers are paid based on their assigned job responsibilities and demonstrated qualities, which include leadership and relevant experience. Where an officer does not have relevant work experience, in particular, for those just entering the workforce, their performance in their educational institutions, which includes both academic and non-academic accomplishments, will be taken into consideration as a proxy.

Once an officer is on the job, it is performance and readiness for bigger job responsibilities that matter. A non-graduate who has demonstrated the same qualities as a graduate will be given the same development and advancement opportunities.

In particular, all officers who perform well and show potential for leadership are given the opportunity to participate in development programmes and are considered for higher positions. This approach applies to all officers, regardless of whether they were scholarship recipients or not. Once the scholarship recipients return from their studies, they are assessed and placed on the same schemes of service and their salaries are also determined in the same way as non-scholarship recipients.

Civil service agencies use Currently Estimated Potential (CEP) as one tool to assess officers for their readiness for bigger job responsibilities. An officer's CEP is assessed based on demonstrated "AIM" qualities, which stand for (a) Analytical and Intellectual Capacity; (b) Influence and Collaboration; and (c) Motivation for Excellence. The CEP assessment is not based on the officer's starting educational qualifications. CEP is based on assessments of whether the officer has demonstrated the qualities required for jobs with larger responsibilities.

The Public Service Leadership Programme (PSLP) is one example of how officers with demonstrated performance and potential for higher responsibilities are developed. Officers from a wide range of educational, professional and work backgrounds have been placed on the PSLP when they have shown good performance and potential.

11 Ms Sun Xueling asked the Prime Minister (a) whether there are plans to offer online banking licences to Internet companies focused on providing solutions for mobile payments; and (b) what will be the pre-requisites in terms of infrastructure and company capabilities for such licences.

MAS' existing bank licensing framework can accommodate Internet-only banks to operate in Singapore. As the risks posed by Internet-only banks are not fundamentally different from those posed by conventional banks, they will operate within the same licensing and regulatory regime as conventional banks.

But most Internet companies will not require a banking licence unless they intend to take deposits and grant loans. If they are offering mainly payment solutions, depending on the specific type of payment service they provide, they may be subject to a narrow set of regulatory requirements pertinent to that payment service.

For example, PayPal, an online payment platform that facilitates e-commerce transactions, is only required to comply with requirements applicable to stored value facilities under the Payment Systems (Oversight) Act. Likewise, Singtel's mRemit, a remittance service on mobile phones, is licensed under the Money-Changing and Remittance Businesses Act.

More non-bank FinTech payment companies are coming onto the scene, offering a variety of payment services. MAS encourages this development as it potentially offers consumers more choice and convenience and further develops our financial industry. To better calibrate its regulatory requirements to the various modes of innovative payment services, MAS has put out for consultation a new, streamlined activity-based regulatory framework for payments. The aim is to promote innovation, ensure security and foster consumer confidence. MAS is currently reviewing public feedback on the proposed payments regulatory framework.

Currently, financial institutions have their own proprietary systems for mobile payments. Will the MAS look at encouraging inter-operability between these systems to create greater convenience for consumers?

We have actually a very valuable infrastructure in place called FAST − that is the Fast And Secure Transfers system that all banks ride on. That is why from my bank account, I can make a payment to another person's bank account, so long as we both have bank accounts in Singapore.

What is not so convenient is that it is based on bank accounts.

So, by the end of this year, the industry will be incorporating within FAST a Central Addressing Scheme (CAS). What CAS allows FAST to do is to have a proxy for our bank accounts, using, say, our NRIC number or mobile phone number. For that matter, businesses can also use their business name and all these can be codified into a QR code. Which means once this is in place, there is potential for us to make payments, not different from WeChat or Alipay.

What is better than WeChat and Alipay is that the FAST system is across the financial and banking system. Today, I believe, WeChat can only pay to WeChat and Alipay to Alipay. But this system allows us to pay across banks. And I think there is great potential for us to promote e-payment once that is in place.

The following question stood in the name of Mr Kok Heng Leun –

12 To ask the Minister for Health whether the Ministry will consider giving Long-Term Visit Pass (LTVP) holders who are married to Singapore Citizens, similar health subsidies as LTVP-Plus holders.

Does someone want to raise the question on his behalf?

Question No 12, Madam.

Mdm Speaker, Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents (PRs) receive Government subsidies at public healthcare institutions, with citizens receiving a higher level of subsidies. This is in line with the broader Government policy of differentiating benefits by citizenship status.

Patients are extended subsidies based on their own citizenship status, and not that of their spouses. This is the general principle which applies to different types of Government subsidies, including for healthcare services. To support Singaporeans with foreign spouses who have not obtained permanent residence or citizenship, the Government decided in 2012, to extend healthcare subsidies for inpatient services to foreign spouses who are LTVP-Plus holders. They are given the same level of subsidies for inpatient services as PRs.

Mdm Speaker, we need to be mindful that the cost of extending Government subsidies to LTVP holders will ultimately be borne by all Singaporeans. Any proposal to further extend more Government subsidies to foreigners, who are neither PRs nor LTVP-Plus holders, would need to be carefully considered.

I thank the Minister of State for the answer. Can I just have a quick supplementary question? What are the criteria which the Ministry is using in justifying a subsidy for LTVP-Plus, but not LTVP? Could you elaborate?

Mdm Speaker, I think I have explained this in my reply, that we provide subsidies to LTVP-Plus holders for inpatient services that are pegged at the same level as PRs. Foreign spouses of Singaporeans can be given LTVP or LTVP-Plus. So, there is a differentiation in terms of the benefits of these two categories, including subsidies for healthcare services.

Sorry if I did not make myself clear. Just wanted to know what are the criteria that make the Ministry decide on giving that to the LTVP-Plus, but not the LTVP. There must be some form of criteria, because both are LTVPs − one has Plus and one has no Plus. There must be some form of criteria that motivates the decision.

Mdm Speaker, this goes back to when the LTVP-Plus scheme was introduced and the policy intent was to have two categories of LTVP holders − one is LTVP, the other one is LTVP-Plus.

Between the two categories, there will be a differentiation in terms of the benefits for these two groups. Similar to how we differentiate the benefits for citizens, PRs, LTVP-Plus and LTVP.

I think that is the policy decision to have these different categories of LTVP holders and the healthcare subsidy is part of this differentiation. Therefore, it is extended to LTVP-Plus holders but not to LTVP holders.

Mdm Speaker, a quick supplementary question, please.

Yes, please.

Just one supplementary question for the Minister of State. The Minister of State alluded to the cost factor. Has the Government actually done a study on quantifying what will be the cost impact if this benefit was extended to LTVP spouses of Singaporeans, beyond just the LTVP-Plus? Is there a ballpark figure in mind?

I think that question is not part of the original question, so if the Member would like more information, he can file a separate Parliamentary Question.

13 Mr Leon Perera asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) (a) what has been the percentage change in the price of natural gas supplied to Singapore's power generation sector for every year since 2010; and (b) how does this compare to the percentage change in electricity prices for (i) consumers; and (ii) SMEs, in each year over the same period.

Mdm Speaker, from 2010 to 2016, the price of natural gas supplied to Singapore's power generation sector fell by 37% while the regulated electricity tariff declined by 16%. The pattern is similar for annual changes and it is consistent with the fact that fuel cost accounts for about half of the regulated electricity tariff.

Mr Leon Perera, your next question.

14 Mr Leon Perera asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) (a) how much has been disbursed under the Young Entrepreneurs Scheme for Schools (YES! Schools) programme in each year since its inception, broken down by disbursements to Polytechnics, ITE colleges and Junior Colleges (JCs)/Secondary schools; (b) how many schools have made use of the grant in each year since its inception, broken down by Polytechnic, ITE college and JC/Secondary school; and (c) how does the Government follow up on its implementation in each school that has received the grant to ensure that the learning outcomes are met.

Mdm Speaker, the seeds of our Entrepreneurship are being sown in our schools and among our young people. The Young Entrepreneurs Scheme for Schools (YES! Schools) programme aims to stimulate interest in entrepreneurship and nurture a pro-innovation and entrepreneurial culture in our youth. Administered by SPRINGSingapore, the programme provides grants of up to $10,000 for structured entrepreneurial learning activities and projects in Polytechnics, JCs and Secondary schools. SPRINGSingapore has also funded projects in some Primary schools.

Since YES! Schools was launched in October 2008 till 2016, about $4.3 million has been disbursed to 149 unique schools, of which 95 schools have been awarded the grant more than once. Of the unique schools, 64 are Primary schools, 79 are Secondary schools and JCs, and the remaining six are ITE colleges and Polytechnics. On average, about $184,000 has been disbursed to Primary schools annually, $270,000 to Secondary schools and JCs, and $87,000 to Polytechnics and ITE colleges. So far, more than 40,000 students have participated directly in entrepreneurship learning activities conducted by the schools under the YES! Schools programme. In addition, the funding has also reached out to thousands of other students in the schools.

To ensure that the programme objectives are met, and also to review SPRINGSingapore's level of support, the agency monitors key outcome indicators in all participating schools. This includes the overall number of participants in the programme, the number of working prototypes developed by the students as well as the number of students participating in external competitions, such as Tan Kah Kee Young Inventors' Award and so on, and internal entrepreneurship showcases. A study conducted by NTU showed that students who participated in the YES! Schools programme have stronger entrepreneurial inclination.

The YES! Schools programme is complemented by other programmes that also expose Primary, Secondary and JC students to entrepreneurship-related activities and this include the MOE's Applied Learning Programme (ALP) for Business and Entrepreneurship, the option of Elective Modules on Entrepreneurship, and the availability of entrepreneurship-related Co-curricular Activities (CCAs), such as Entrepreneurship Clubs. Entrepreneurship is also promoted in our Post-Secondary Education Institutions (PSEIs) through different programmes and the establishment of incubators. Students have ample opportunities to learn and experience or take the first step in starting their own business.

Besides the Yes! Schools programme, students passionate about entrepreneurship can also join the youth chapter of Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE). This youth chapter is called EDGE, which stands for Empower, Develop and Groom Entrepreneurs. This youth chapter attracts student representatives from the various IHLs. They are an enterprising force promoting entrepreneurship amongst our youths.

I thank the Parliamentary Secretary for the very detailed and very helpful answer. I think these various programmes are very important because of the need to cultivate an entrepreneurial sense and inclination so that we can develop local SMEs as a strong third leg to the economy. So, my supplementary questions are centred on how can you increase the number of students who are affected by these programmes and in whom we can instil that kind of entrepreneurial inclination.

My main supplementary question is really about the model that we adopt. It seems that for this particular programme, the Yes! grant and also the other programme which is the 50 SMEs Initiative, which I have asked about in a separate written question, the model seems to be one of a "pull" model where the schools and the students can elect to participate and make use of the fund and resources.

But would the Ministry consider more of a "push" model, so that all schools and all students will, at minimum, be required to engage in at least some activity that exposes them to the entrepreneurial world? It need not be a very high-level activity like an attachment where you should opt in, but it could be a very basic exposure like a tour of some local companies, talks or taking part in some basic activities.

Mr Perera, put your question, please. No long preambles, please. Members, let me remind you again.

Yes, that is all. Thank you.

I want to thank the Member for the supplementary questions. Earlier on, I took efforts to explain and update the numbers. In MOE and MTI, we are heartened by the healthy take-up of the YES! Programme since it was launched in 2008: 64 Primary schools, and that would be 35% of Primary schools; 79 Secondary schools, and that would be slightly more than half of Secondary schools; and six ITE, Polytechnics, which means four out of five Polytechnics, are already on board, bearing in mind they also have their own respective Elective Modules or Advance Elective Modules. Two out of three ITE campuses involved.

The NTU survey that was done has shown that because of the exposure to entrepreneurship through the YES! Programme, it has allowed them, through hands-on entrepreneurship-related learning opportunities to spark the interest of entrepreneurship in our students. This is important to nurture their interest at the early stage, so that, for those who are interested to further their interest, we can then complement the YES! Schools programme with other programmes like CCAs, as I have mentioned, or the Elective Models on entrepreneurship, and even invite some of these youths to join the Youth Chapter of ACE.

We are heartened that there are many examples of how schools have embarked on working out prototypes, participating in various competitions like the National Youth Business Challenges and so on. We are heartened by the healthy take-up.

Also, I want to explain, looking at the number of YES! schools, that one data point may not be a true reflection of the schools' interest in entrepreneurship because we complement it with the various advanced Applied Learning Programme (ALP), Elective Models and CCAs. Suffice to say that based on the last eight years of experience, SPRINGSingapore will certainly continue to work with MOE, schools and also the PSEIs to nurture an enterprising spirit and entrepreneurial mindset in our youth and ensure that those whose interest in entrepreneurship has been sparked will continue to have various pathways to nurture that interest.

Even for students who may not have an immediate interest after school to go into venture creation, the mere fact that an enterprising spirit and entrepreneurial mindset have been nurtured will stand them in a very good stead in the future.

May I ask the Parliamentary Secretary whether this Programme also highlights the risks of entrepreneurship to the students? I am concerned that you paint a rosy picture of entrepreneurship and that you do not highlight the risks of failure to such students. At the end of the day, many of them may go into business without knowing the risks involved.

I want to thank the Member Mr Lim Biow Chuan for a very good question.

Indeed, knowing how to manage risks is a very important part of entrepreneurship and innovation. Under the YES! programmes, there are various platforms where students will be given some understanding of entrepreneurship and innovation, developing the ability to be enterprising, resourceful and innovate and persevere under difficult circumstances, and also the ability to recognise opportunities and how to manage risks, and even to cut loss and manage the resources – bearing in mind that we live in a resource-constrainted world.

15 Mr Desmond Choo asked the Minister for Finance how does the Government ensure that workers engaged for Government contracts are paid for their work when either the main contractors or the latter's sub-contractors go into liquidation.

Mdm Speaker, before contracts are awarded, Government agencies will take into consideration the financial standing of the contractor to ascertain whether he has the necessary resources to fulfil his contractual obligations. During the contract, Government agencies will monitor the contractor's performance. If the contractor faces cash flow difficulties, the Government agency can consider adjusting the payment milestones or delivery schedule.

In the unfortunate event of a contractor going into liquidation, the Government, like any service buyer, will rely on the provisions of the law to provide remedy for the affected workers. As the Minister for Manpower has previously shared with this House, when a contractor goes into liquidation, the Companies Act provides for the apportionment of the unpaid salaries for workers. Unpaid salaries of workers will be accorded higher priority over claims by other unsecured creditors. Affected workers can lodge salary claims with the appointed liquidator, who is required to give such claims priority.

The Minister for Manpower has elaborated in his parliamentary response on other forms of assistance available as well as additional measures being put in place to help affected workers.

I thank the Senior Minister of State for her comprehensive reply. I was wondering whether the Government can consider, under certain circumstances, establishing escrow accounts for certain contracts, so that workers can be protected, especially during difficult economic times.

Madam, I thank the Member for his supplementary question. It is not so much a matter of establishing escrow accounts because the scenario painted by the Member is one where you have a main contractor and the employees, and then you have sub-contractors and they have their employees. Each company will have other creditors as well.

So, it is very difficult to say that I put this aside only for the employees and it is difficult for the Government to do that. If the company itself sets aside monies in a certain escrow account and specifically stipulates that this is for employees, then that is something that the company can do. But it is difficult for the Government to step in and interfere with the contractors' own arrangements of its accounts.

16 Dr Tan Wu Meng asked the Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) with regard to students studying in ITEs and Polytechnics (a) what proportion of internships include an allowance; and (b) for internships that do not include an allowance, whether a fund can be established to pool corporate donations for the purpose of providing allowances to students with limited means.

Mdm Speaker, internships are an important aspect of applied education in the Polytechnics and ITEs in providing students with critical hands-on training and experience to better prepare them for work in the industry.

Through the efforts of the Polytechnics and ITEs, currently, 93.5% of Polytechnic and ITE students who go on internships receive an allowance, up from 90.9% in 2014. While we have seen much stronger support for internship allowance in certain sectors, such as social work and nursing, there are still some interns from a variety of courses who do not receive an internship allowance, due to company-specific policies.

My Ministry strongly encourages companies that do not yet provide their interns an allowance to do so. The Polytechnics and ITEs will continue to work with the remaining companies who do not provide their interns an allowance. For students who are in need of assistance to cover daily expenses, our institutions administer financial assistance schemes which they can tap on.

I thank the Parliamentary Secretary for his answer. I was wondering ‒ given that internships can be a way for students to discover their aptitude, their affinity and calling for certain lines of work ‒ whether the Ministry could re-double its efforts to make internships more equitable, in terms of access to these allowances, so that students from less advantaged backgrounds, from less well-off families, do not find themselves having to make difficult choices in what internships they choose to apply for.

Madam, we certainly agree with Dr Tan Wu Meng's view. In fact, the Polytechnics and ITEs are working with the companies to see how we can increase the percentage of internships that provide an allowance.

I would like to assure Members in the House that all the Polytechnics and ITEs have funds to cater to students who need financial assistance. For example, Singapore Polytechnic has a Needy Fund to support students. The Polytechnics and ITEs will also look at how we can further assist our students whenever they need help, including the period during their internship.

Madam, a supplementary question. I understand that students with special needs in ITEs particularly have lots of problems finding internship places. Would the Ministry be looking at how more resources can be placed to help students with special needs find internship places?

I thank the Member for the question. We will take on the Member's suggestion.

17 Mr Saktiandi Supaat asked the Minister for Education (Schools) (a) how serious is the problem of students who sport a tattoo on a visible part of the body; (b) what are the common reasons that a child will sport a tattoo; and (c) what is the policy on how to handle such pupils if the tattoo is on a visible part of the body.

Mdm Speaker, instances of students sporting tattoos on visible parts of the body are not frequent. Generally, schools encounter only a handful of such cases for older students.

Students in our schools are not allowed to have tattoos on visible parts of their body while in school uniform. Students sporting tattoos will either be asked to cover up their tattoos or to have them removed.

Tattooing may result from the students' need to express their personal identity, an act of defiance or to fit into certain social circles. Schools, therefore, provide counselling to help students work through possible underlying issues which have led them to sporting a tattoo. Schools also actively engage their parents to guide students in making healthy and right choices. In managing students with tattoos, schools adopt an educative approach.

I thank the Minister of State for the answer. The reason I asked this question is one of my residents who is an ex-school teacher actually gave an example of a student who found out that some schools may not allow students to come back to school until a tattoo is removed, which means that the child is out of school for some time. Others may allow the students to return as long as they sign an undertaking. In those circumstances, how long will the students be away and will it affect the child as well?

My second question is: in the future, if such instances increase, will MOE consider working with MHA to ensure parental consent is needed for minors, for example, at the moment, 14 and below, to do tattoos? For minors need parental consent before they can undertake tattoos as well.

Mdm Speaker, with respect to the first supplementary question, MOE provides broad guidelines around the principles of how tattoos are to be managed. But schools have their own specific ways of administering the counselling services, administering discipline, engaging with the parents and the students to enforce that. So, there are no strict absolutes in that process. If there are specific cases where perhaps the process is not working, the Member could let me know about the details and I could follow up.

With respect to the second issue, the process of tattooing happens outside the school environment, so there are some considerations about how that might be taken forward, but it is something we could explore.

18 Mr Desmond Choo asked the Minister for Manpower in light of the increase in numbers of workers participating in the "sharing" economy with many being freelancers or self-employed (a) whether has there been a deflationary impact on wages in sectors with a high concentration of such workers; and (b) how can the Government help these workers to be financially adequate in their retirement.

Mdm Speaker, in June 2016, there were about 180,000 primary freelancers who operated their own business or trade as their main work without employing any paid worker, accounting for about 8% of our working residents.

Even though the share of these primary freelancers has remained relatively stable, at between 8% and 10% of the working residents over the last 10 years, their numbers could be growing in specific sectors, such as private hire car services, while dropping in other sectors, such as real estate. The emergence of "sharing economy" platforms may also enable more people to take up freelancing as a secondary source of income.

We have, therefore, initiated a new annual survey, starting in September last year, to gather more in-depth statistics on the changes in the freelancing landscape. This will help us better understand the profiles of freelancers, including whether they take up freelancing as a primary or secondary source of income, as well as the sectors and occupations they are in.

With the information from the survey, we will monitor more closely the workforce trends of the "sharing economy" and look into the issues that freelancers may face, including retirement adequacy.

I thank the Minister for the reply. I would just like to have two points of clarification. The first one, especially in the areas he had pointed out, in terms of Uber and Grab driving affecting the taxi companies, whether the income of the taxi drivers has been affected? And secondly, can the Ministry consider Codes of Best Practices for Government contractors to take on certain practices that help freelancers prepare for their retirement, including contributions to CPF?

Mdm Speaker, over the three-year period from 2014 to 2016, we looked at the median gross income of employed residents. On the whole, there is a broad-based real wage increase over the three years from 2014 to 2016 across all categories. One sector saw a drop of about 1% a year, and that was in real estate services. Another sector which saw a fairly stagnant median income is finance and insurance services. For all the other sectors, including transportation and storage, there was a broad-based real wage increase over the three years.

But having said that, I think past performance may not necessarily be an indication of future performance. What we are concerned about is whether, in time to come, the growth of this so-called gig economy will have a greater impact on more workers. And that is the reason why we have decided to initiate this new series of annual surveys.

I would only be able to better answer the question raised by the Member after the tripartite partners have had the chance to look at these survey findings for last year and, subsequently, on a year-to-year basis for us to analyse further in terms of what are the best practices, as the Member has proposed, as well as what we can do together to strengthen the retirement adequacy of these workers.

Will the Ministry look into increasing communication and education for these freelancing workers so that they are aware of the risk that is involved in terms of overall financial planning for them when they are engaged in freelancing jobs?

Mdm Speaker, the answer is yes. Over the years, MOM has always been worried about the retirement adequacy of these freelancing workers. This is because besides contributing to their MediSave account, they do not contribute to their OA and SA. We will always be concerned for them in terms of their savings for housing and retirement.

So, as I have said earlier, the tripartite partners intend to focus on this and see how we can reach out to more of them and, hopefully, put in place various measures ‒ maybe on the part of the freelancers themselves or their customers' service buyers ‒ to see how we can work together to strengthen their retirement adequacy.

I thank the Minister for talking about the survey. I just want to check whether the survey will also cover liabilities, because the gig economy is very different from that for traditional freelancers in which there are lots of established norms. If we look at Uber and others, for example, they do have other liabilities which they cater for as well and they are also at risk, but also in terms of income. I am glad the Minister has also mentioned and talked about the concerns about OA and SA contributions. Has there been a study today on the impact of the gig economy on the ability to service housing loans and insurance coverage and all that? Has there been a survey now or is that something that the Ministry will be looking into?

Mdm Speaker, we have not done a comprehensive analysis. However, if you look at, for example, home ownership, between the freelancers versus the full-time employees, there is no significant difference in the rate of ownership. For the freelancers, we may ask them through informal surveys, "How do you prepare for your housing and retirement?" They will say, "Look, since I do not contribute to OA and SA, I have saved for it myself." If you ask the taxi driver, "Do you save enough to pay for your housing?" He will say, "Yes, I have." "Are you saving enough for your retirement?" He will say, "Yes, I am." This is based on the present situation.

In a way, our concern about housing, medical and retirement needs of freelancers is not a new issue. It has been around for the last many years because freelancers have been around in the market for a long, long time.

But what we are concerned about are the changes that are taking place in the employment landscape. Firstly, whether this number will grow and, secondly, how the market dynamics may change over time with more portfolio workers.

And this is the reason why we thought it is timely now to start a new series of surveys to really go in-depth to understand the issues. We are not jumping to any conclusion at this moment because, firstly, we would like to know whether more and more of them are primary freelancers or secondary freelancers. Based on our initial findings from the first survey, it would appear that the number of primary freelancers did not increase significantly. Any increase might have come mainly from the secondary freelancers. In other words, with the growth of the sharing economy, workers who have their primary employment are now taking advantage of sharing platforms to earn additional income, which may not be a bad thing. But as I have said, I do not want to prejudge the outcome of our analysis at this moment.

19 Mr Zaqy Mohamad asked the Minister for Manpower (a) what is the Ministry's assessment on the take-up of the Professional Conversion Programme; (b) what are the challenges in matching and retraining vulnerable professionals amidst increasing retrenchment; (c) what are the take-up rates by workers from different race groups; and (d) whether the Programme has challenges reaching out to specific groups.

Mdm Speaker, the Professional Conversion Programme (PCP) was launched in 2007 to help our local PMETs acquire new skills to take on new careers.

With economic restructuring and slowing local workforce growth, the risk of mismatches between jobseekers and jobs created in the labour market has increased. To overcome this challenge, we expanded the scope of PCPs under the Adapt and Grow initiative last year to allow for conversion to different jobs within the same sector, as well as to different jobs within the same company for sectors with high risks of redundancy. We also extended the coverage of PCPs to most sectors − with 50 PCPs at the end of 2016, compared to 22 at the start of the year. Last year alone, we increased the number of PCPs from 22 to 50, covering almost every sector of the economy now.

The result of these changes has been encouraging, with more than 1,300 PMETs securing conversions through PCPs in 2016, which is 20% more than in 2015. Data on take-up by race is not available. However, based on ground observations from our career coaches from e2i and WSG, they have told us that the response across the racial groups is fairly balanced. In other words, there is a good mix of jobseekers from various racial groups.

There remains much to do to support the manpower and skills needs of employers and, at the same time, to help our locals who may not have the relevant skills and experience to seize new job opportunities being created. MOM and WSG will continue to look at ways to strengthen our support for jobseekers under Adapt and Grow, including through PCPs, in close collaboration with our tripartite partners.

I thank the Minister for the explanation. Just two clarifications.

Firstly, the Minister mentioned we had 1,300 workers that were successfully matched. I think that is very good progress. Does the Minister have figures in terms of how many are there who actually applied initially and what proportion was successful that made up this 1,300?

Secondly, it is good the Minister mentioned that, across different racial groups, it is quite evenly distributed. Is there a difference within age groups as well? For example, are seniors more difficult to get matched? I suppose matches for the younger ones would be easier, but are there issues for the senior groups?

Mdm Speaker, firstly, in terms of the mix across the various age groups, I do not have the specific breakdown for the PCP alone. But, on the whole, of all the successful jobseekers we were able to place last year, as I can recall, about close to 40% were more than 50 years old. About one-third of those unemployed and managed to find jobs were unemployed for more than six months, meaning they are long-term unemployed. In terms of breakdown by PMETs and the rank-and-file, again, there is a good balance of about 50:50.

Broadly speaking, our success rate, whether in terms of age breakdown or breakdown by PMETs versus rank-and-file or by long-term unemployed versus unemployed, I would say it has been fairly balanced and fairly inclusive. But, certainly, I would agree with the Member that for professional conversion, it is more likely that the more mature PMETs may find greater difficulties in going through this professional conversion.

For example, one observation we made so far is that the majority of the PCPs start at the entry level. In other words, you move from one profession to another profession, but the majority of them end up starting from the entry level of the new profession. So, this may actually discourage the mature PMETs, because for them to start all over again at the bottom of the new career may be too painful. This is an area that MOM has looked into, whether we should strengthen and enhance the PCPs. You may hear something on this at the COS this year.

In terms of the success rate, again, I have to recall from memory now. Broadly speaking, I would say that the success rate is about 60%. This is for all programmes; we do not keep track of the success rate by individual programme. We look at the number of PMETs who come to us and – I stand to be corrected – we were able to match 60% of them successfully to jobs. But it does not mean that the other 40% are jobless, because many of them will go through their own efforts, such as applying for jobs through the National Jobs Bank.

Two points of clarification for the Minister. Firstly, for the purpose of job market signalling, which are the top three PCP programmes that have been very successful and which will continue to grow further? Secondly, for the programmes that have not been so well received thus far, how can the tripartite partners work together with MOM to grow the programmes?

Mdm Speaker, the Member is right that the response to the PCP across the 50 PCPs is obviously uneven. In some cases, we have more supply than demand, meaning there were more jobseekers but fewer job openings from employers and, in some cases, the other way around. What MOM, together with our tripartite partners, is trying to do is to minimise this mismatch. Again, at the coming COS, we intend to make known further enhancements to the Adapt and Grow initiatives to minimise this mismatch between supply and demand.

20 Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling asked the Minister for National Development whether the Ministry will consider providing a longer grace period of 15 minutes for parking in car parks with electronic parking systems during peak hours in areas where there are childcare facilities and schools.

Madam, the 10-minute grace period in HDB and URA car parks with electronic parking system (EPS) is generally sufficient for most motorists to pick up or drop off passengers, or for motorists to exit the car park if they cannot find a parking space.

HDB and URA need to impose charges after the grace period to ensure quick turnover of vehicles in the car park. This prevents build-up of congestion in the car park, allows more motorists to make use of the car park and ensures that the interests of residents who drive or have season parking are adequately taken care of.

Nevertheless, as parking charges in car parks with EPS are levied on a per-minute basis, if motorists exceed the grace period, they only need to pay for the actual duration of their parking in that car park.

I thank the Senior Minister of State for his answer. The reason for asking this is because we are seeing more of these schools in the neighbourhoods, due to the bus lanes as well as the congestion because of where the gates are positioned for the schools. More of them are building up within the HDB car parks. Generally, when the drop-offs happen, they are not all residents that live within that area. As a result of that, it creates even more congestion for the people who are living within the estates.

Hence, the question of whether we could increase that grace period. It is not so much because they would like to park there for a longer time. Generally, the bottleneck is within the car park, and they are being trapped.

I understand the Member's concern and many of us do receive requests from time to time on this basis. The grace period in and of itself will not solve the issue that the Member has highlighted. It is rather the arrangements for pick-up and drop-off of children and the elderly, in the case of Senior Activity Centres.

As I have said earlier, the reason why we set a uniform grace period is to strike a balance between the different users of the car park. We need to take into account the residents, other users of the car park, as well as those who come and drop off and pick up people. It is not possible to accommodate every group's request, although we try as hard as we can. Bearing in mind also that we have more than 1,500 car parks under the EPS system, as mentioned in my earlier Parliamentary Question reply. And so, some amount of certainty, predictability and consistency is essential.

Nevertheless, if there is an issue in particular estates, as I had said earlier, it is not primarily the grace period, I think it has got to do with the design of the pick-up and drop-off points.

21 Mr Png Eng Huat asked the Minister for National Development (a) what is the number of feedback and complaints which the Ministry has received from residents of newly-built executive condominiums (ECs) on defects and design flaws in the past five years; and (b) what is the role of HDB in helping to resolve such matters since ECs are part of the stable of public flats offered by HDB.

Madam, the Executive Condominium Housing Scheme (ECHS) was introduced in 1995 to meet the aspirations of Singaporeans to own private housing in an affordable way. This is done by imposing on EC buyers certain initial eligibility and ownership restrictions. But after the 10th year, all restrictions are lifted and the EC will be no different from other private condominiums.

MND does not track feedback received on ECs. This is because buyers purchase their ECs directly from the private developers and, under the Sale and Purchase (S&P) Agreement signed between the EC developer and home buyers, the EC developer is responsible for all defects during the 12-month Defects Liability Period. The EC developer is also contractually obliged to attend to all feedback from buyers on the design, finishing, workmanship or other concerns pertaining to the development and respond to the buyers accordingly.

Mdm Speaker, a supplementary question for the Senior Minister of State. A lot of the public housing rules and regulations apply to EC, such as the Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) and even the resale levy. Would the Ministry consider assisting these residents to address all these defects, some of which are actually design flaws, in the official capacity as the housing authority? Because some of these residents would have done their homework − they would have gone to BCA, they would have gone to a lot of places. They felt that because the EC is part of the housing options offered by HDB, HDB is the authority to help them. Not to help them resolve it, but at least help them to initiate a meeting to set the framework on how these developers can help them. I have personally experienced, that in Hougang and it helps when HDB is involved; but that does not involve ECs, it involves a new BTO.

Both in the supplementary question and in the Parliamentary Question, the Member has alluded to ECs as public housing. If you look at the 1995 debate during which the EC scheme was developed, it was to make private housing an option for middle class Singaporean households to be able to enter private housing in an affordable way.

There are Government Land Sales and then there are EC land sales. For EC land sales, unlike private housing land sales, we put in place restrictions, as the Member has mentioned − the MOP, the eligibility criteria to provide for middle income households the option to buy ECs. Whilst these policies are in place, they make ECs an affordable way for people to enter into private housing.

But that said, I think the Member's concern is about residents who face issues with ECs. While the contractual obligations are on the developer to address all the concerns the buyers have raised, when EC buyers raise concerns about EC units to HDB, HDB will certainly convey these concerns to the EC developers for them to take appropriate action.

22 Mr Seah Kian Peng asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether there has been in increase in the number of homeless individuals since 2015 and, if so, what are the underlying reasons; and (b) what are the places that the homeless occupy for their makeshift/temporary homes.

Mdm Speaker, the number of homeless individuals who received support and shelter from MSF has decreased slightly from 199 in 2015 to 176 in 2016. This includes individuals found to be staying at public places such as parks and communal spaces in housing estates. Some individuals found sleeping in public places may actually have homes of their own, but they choose to sleep in public because of family disputes or other considerations.

Homeless individuals tend to be of low income and have weak social support. Many of them are older persons, who may have physical or mental health conditions and lack the means to support themselves. Many also have no family members who are able to support them.

If a homeless individual is assessed by MSF to be unable to work and has no financial means and accommodation and no family support, he or she would be admitted to one of our Welfare Homes. The Homes provide care and rehabilitation programmes to help residents improve in their emotional and physical well-being.

Transitional shelters provide temporary accommodation for homeless individuals and families who have exhausted all other means of accommodation and are not eligible for HDB housing options. Case workers at the shelters and social workers at the Family Service Centres will work with them to improve their family situation and secure their long-term housing arrangements.

I thank the Parliamentary Secretary for the answer. It is heartening to know that the numbers have come down. Just a few supplementary questions. Amongst these individuals who are homeless, do we also know of those who may have a foreign spouse and are not covered under the 176 cases that are being monitored? If there are, what can MSF do?

My next question is, that there are many concerned members of the public out there when they see such individuals. So, is there a particular hotline which they could call and the Ministry can then activate the resources to render help to these groups of people or individuals?

Madam, this is about being human, about taking care of one another. Regardless of whether you are Singaporean or otherwise, if you find someone who is homeless, I think the reaction is to just go and see how we can help them. I assure the Member that we have staff who also walk the ground to look at how we can help people in Singapore who are without homes. About which number to call, they can call our ComCare hotline and we will direct the necessary help their way as much as possible.

23 Mr Saktiandi Supaat asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) since the signing of several agreements at the Africa-Singapore Business Forum in August 2016 (a) what are some of the specific projects that will be taking off; and (b) how can we further strengthen economic ties with African nations.

Madam, Africa is a diverse continent of 54 countries. Positive demographics of a young population, a significantly large young population, growing middle class consumption and rapid urbanisation are driving growth in Africa. As a region, it has been forecast to grow faster than the global average over the next five years.

To promote greater awareness and understanding of Africa and its opportunities, we have been facilitating bilateral visits between Singaporean and African government officials, as well as business communities. The biennial Africa-Singapore Business Forum organised by International Enterprise Singapore is one such platform which brings together government, business and thought leaders from Singapore and Africa. The Singapore Business Federation has been active in organising regular business missions to different African markets. These exchanges create opportunities for Singapore companies to find opportunities for collaboration with African partners.

To support stronger economic ties with African countries, we have also entered into government-to-government agreements to establish frameworks that support trade and investment activity. In 2016, for example, we signed Bilateral Investment Treaties with Nigeria and another one with Mozambique. We also signed an Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement with Ethiopia and an Air Services Agreement with Nigeria.

We are encouraged to see a number of Singapore-based companies undertaking significant projects in Africa. Where Singapore's experience and innovative solutions are a good match for Africa's needs, long-term partnerships are being forged. For example, Hyflux has embarked on its first township development project in Morogoro in Tanzania. E-government solutions company CrimsonLogic has implemented electronic platforms in Kenya and Rwanda to digitise trade documentation in these countries. One of our SMEs, YuuZoo, a digital platform provider, has also launched an SME-focused e-commerce platform in Nigeria. International Enterprise Singapore will continue to partner Singapore companies as they continue their internationalisation journey in Africa and elsewhere. I have led business delegations to sub-Saharan Africa last year and will continue to do so this year.

I have a quick question for the Minister of State. Can the Minister of State share with us the extent of SME involvement, going forward, in terms of outlook? Will more Singaporean SMEs be involved in Africa and to what extent may they benefit from this bilateral trade with Africa?

Mdm Speaker, I thank the Member for his supplementary question. There are opportunities in various sectors, including agri-businesses, infra-structure projects, urban solutions, logistics, info-communication technology as well as the oil and gas sector. These are opportunities where our SMEs have offerings and strengths. I do encourage our SMEs to look at these markets seriously and to join us on our trade missions to have a better understanding of these markets and provide solutions to countries that may need their services as well.

Order. End of Question Time. The Clerk will now read the orders of the day.

[Pursuant to Standing Order No 22(3), Written Answers to Question Nos 24-27 and 30-31 on the Order Paper are reproduced in the Appendix. Question Nos 28 and 29 have been postponed to the sitting of Parliament on 20 February 2017.]

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