Amy Khor Lean Suan
Singapore
“Sir, NEA does conduct inspections of these premises from time to time. For this particular premises, they actually did six inspections since 2021.”
“The Land Transport Authority (LTA) conducts enforcement actions against drivers who are found to have provided illegal car-pooling services. An individual who provides an illegal car-pooling service may face a fine of up to $3,000, up to six months' imprisonment, or both.”
“We will also provide the first 500 private heavy vehicle chargers co-funding of up to 50% of the charger installation cost, capped at $30,000 per charger. These measures will narrow the lifecycle cost gap between an electric and internal combustion engine heavy vehicle and spur adoption of electric heavy vehicles.”
“With regard to the extension of the lower speed limit to school zones for full day, we will work with the relevant agencies on the enhanced enforcements.”
“They will provide a certain amount of protection to the pedestrians because, as I have said, the bollards will absorb the impact of the collision from the vehicles. So, there is a protection. But ultimately, of course, road safety really depends on a multitude of factors, including road user behaviour.”
“The bollards installed at pedestrian crossings by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) are not of the K4, K8 or K12 standards stated by the Member. Bollards of these standards are typically security bollards. They are installed to protect critical infrastructure or at high security areas, such as Changi Airport, to be unyielding.”
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“Indeed. Even as enforcement alone is not the panacea, we will continue with our enforcement actions. We also work with the Town Councils as well as grassroots organisations to educate smokers and encourage them to be more considerate. Having said that, if a resident has information or sees acts of errant smokers smoking in prohibited areas, they could provide the information to NEA. NEA will conduct investigations.”
“Smoking within residential premises, in the home, in private space is beyond the jurisdiction of the Government. We do not have smoking prohibition within the homes themselves. Our advice would be for the affected resident to have a discussion with the neighbour to try and resolve this amicably. If not, the resident may get assistance from a Community Mediation Centre. Let me also say that enforcement alone is not the panacea to curb inconsiderate smoking behaviour. At the end of the day, we need to urge and get the smokers to be socially responsible and to be considerate when smoking so as not to cause disamenities to others. Families and friends of the smokers as well as the public, in general, could help to reinforce the right social norms, through nudges and reminders, in order to be able to try and address such issues.”
“As I have said, most of the buildings with public access are already smoke-free areas. We have no intention to mandate smoking rooms in these places. Notwithstanding this, the premises owner can designate smoking areas as long as these are not areas where smoking is prohibited. So, beyond five metres from the entrance or exit of a building which is a smoking-prohibited area, they could designate a DSA. This is actually being done, for instance, in Orchard Road, where we have implemented DSAs. With regards to having a smoking area within a building, the issue is that, if you have a smoking room in a building, it will reduce the level of exposure of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), but not completely. This ETS could seep into other parts of the building and it could pose a health hazard and a health risk to persons in the enclosed space. That is the reason why under the Smoking (Prohibition in Certain Places) Act, we only allow smoking rooms in certain publicly accessible areas or premises, such as at Changi Airport Terminals' transit area, as well as in pubs, discotheques and so on, and also in office premises, but subject to very strict requirements. Which is that these premises must have a separate ventilation system where the smoking room is, and it must not be an area where staff is required to be in, in the course of their work and so on. If these can be complied with, then the premises owner can designate a smoking room.”
“I want to thank the Member for her suggestion. We will look into this. Let me say that, in a way, we have already started this when we set up DSAs in Orchard Road last year to study the effectiveness of reducing smoking in publicly accessible areas, and to encourage the smokers to be considerate and smoke only in the DSAs. We are evaluating the results of this study and the results will be taken into consideration when we decide on the future plans for DSAs. More importantly, beyond campaigns and to encourage smokers to be considerate, we hope that we can also help smokers to completely quit smoking. And in this regard, the Health Promotion Board has educational campaigns to raise awareness about the harmful effects of smoking. It also has a "I Quit" campaign that it administers to help smokers to quit in more easily adaptable steps by breaking them down to help them in their journey to quit.”
“To the Member’s question on imposing restrictions on those who smoke on the move, the Government has already taken steps in that direction. Since 2013, smoking on pedestrian overhead bridges and under covered walkways has been prohibited. In the latter part of this year, the Orchard Road precinct will be gazetted as a smoke-free zone where smoking will no longer be allowed at all in public areas, except at a number of DSAs. This means that smokers will not be able to light up while walking within the zone. The issue of smoking is one that requires all sectors of society to play their part. Families and communities must come together to encourage smokers to quit and keep them on a smoke-free path. Premises managers must observe their legal obligation to help enforce the smoking prohibition within their premises in consideration of their non-smoking clients and staff. Smokers should also be considerate when smoking in public places, and smoke only in permitted areas so as not to adversely affect the health of others.”
“Thank you. Smoking has been a significant and long-standing public health issue in Singapore. Over the last decade, the prevalence of smoking has hovered around 12%-14%, and an average of six Singaporeans die prematurely from smoking-related diseases each day. The Government has taken a multi-pronged approach to tackle tobacco addiction, such as by curtailing access to cigarettes, sustaining public education and imposing taxes on tobacco products. Nonetheless, we recognise that smoking will continue in Singapore and throughout the world and smokers need time to wean themselves off their habit. We must, therefore, continue to remind those who smoke of the health effects and also to be considerate in their actions. Smokers have generally observed the smoking prohibition in public places, such as hospitals, clinics, sports complexes, office buildings and shopping malls. With smoking already disallowed in most buildings with public access, the Government has no plans to mandate the provision of smoking rooms in such premises. Notwithstanding this, the Smoking (Prohibition in Certain Places) Act allows for the provision of indoor smoking rooms in certain types of publicly-accessible premises, such as in entertainment outlets, provided that the smoking room is independently ventilated and not required to be used by any person in the course of his work. The need for smoking rooms should be determined by the managers of these premises as they have a legal duty to uphold the smoking prohibition rule within their premises. Premises managers may also set up designated smoking areas (DSAs) in the outdoor areas of their premises, provided these are not places where smoking is prohibited.”
“Public healthcare institutions are progressively moving beyond academic qualifications to skills and competencies in the recruitment, remuneration and promotion of staff. Academic qualifications are commonly used as a reference for new recruits who usually have little or no work experience. For mid-career recruits, their relevant experience is taken into account when determining their salaries. Beyond the entry grade, salary and career progression are now mostly performance- and competency-based. For example, nurses' remuneration and promotion depend primarily on their job performance and acquisition of specialised skills, rather than their previous academic attainment or grades. To further strengthen the competency-based human resource system, the Ministry of Health is partnering SkillsFuture Singapore to develop the Skills Frameworks for Healthcare for the healthcare workforce, including nurses, allied health professionals, pharmacy technicians and support care staff. The Skills Framework will articulate the roles, skills, competencies and training required for each job role. We also hope to work with the unions to implement the Skills Framework when it is ready by the end of this year.”
“I do not have the numbers but my understanding is that the numbers have been pretty constant. There is a designated site, about 1.5 nautical miles south of Pulau Semakau, provided by Maritime Port Authority of Singapore for scattering of ashes at sea. So, just to clarify, when we talk about sea burials, we are talking about lowering the whole body into the sea. It is scattering of ashes at sea, which is allowed, but not sea burials.”
“There has been some public interest in ash scattering on land. Inland ash scattering is done in countries like Hong Kong, Taiwan, China and Korea. We are studying the inland ash scattering concept and we are planning to offer this option of inland ash scattering at designated Government after-death facilities. We are consulting stakeholders, religious leaders as well as funeral parlour directors and so on, before we make an announcement later this year. Just to clarify, it is not inland ash scattering options but inland ash scattering as another option for the placement of cremated remains.”
“In addition, proactively, we also have a pipe renewal system. The average age of our pipe network is about 25 years, which is actually well within the useful lifespan of these pipelines. We have been able to do this because since the 1980s, we have an ongoing pipe renewal programme and we have been increasing the length of pipe that we replace each year. We also do that with better materials, more corrosion-resistant materials. We are constantly looking at improved methods and technologies to prevent or reduce leak incidence rates.”
“With regard to the first set of questions about the trend in the incidence rate of the leaks, I would say that, generally, it has been hovering around there for the last seven years. In fact, for 2017, we anticipated that the incidence rate will be about six leaks per 100 km. So, that has been the general trend in the numbers. There has been no discernible uptrend in the leak incidence rates. With regard to publication, we will take the Member's suggestions on board. But from time to time, we do actually report and publish such rates in any case. For the other countries, we also get information from published literature but I am not sure if everyone publishes it on an annual basis or on a regular basis. We will have to check. As I have said, we have one of the lowest incidence in the world. Just to give the Member an example from data that we have got: Berlin as well as Munich in Germany, it is about seven leaks over 100 km. In United Kingdom's eastern region, it is about 13 leaks per 100 km. In Sydney, Australia, it is 28 leaks per 100 km. These are some of the data that we have. With regard to proactively identifying leaks, as I have said, we have a comprehensive leak management programme. This also includes proactively trying to prevent leaks from happening. So, our annual inspection of 5,500 km of water pipeline network that we have is a proactive or pre-emptive measure because we also utilise our portable acoustic leak noise data loggers to try and identify these leaks before they surface, through visual inspection as well as using these tools. In fact, in more hotspot areas where leaks may occur because of soil condition and all that, we inspect it even more than once – maybe up to two to three times a year.”
“As I have said, for this sensor network system, leak detection is only one of its functions. A main function of this sensor network system is to monitor the performance of the water distribution network in real-time and to help PUB plan its operations. PUB has found that the sensor network system has been able to enhance its operations and substantially reduced incidents like valve operations that can lead to a disruption in water supply. Therefore, it is going to expand the deployment of this sensor network system to cover other parts of the network, which would be the newly laid pipelines as well as pipelines where there is limited coverage and in the next two to three years to also cover the NEWater and industrial water pipelines.”
“So, it has not been taken up, but they will continue to look at different areas in order to be able to minimise water losses as well as to supply good quality water 24/7 to its customers.”
“This water sensor network system, as I have said, fulfils a number of functions. Leak detection is just one of the functions of the sensor network system. The sensor network system helps PUB in terms of monitoring the performance of its water distribution network by monitoring network pressure, water quality and water flow, and so on. In fact, it is necessary and it is important for the data obtained from this to be in real-time because it helps PUB in terms of planning for its operation as well as identifying and responding to anomalies and to minimise water supply disruption. For instance, when there is a water leak incident and the PUB field crew is sent to respond to the incident, they can use the sensor data as well as the software simulation tools to plan for their operations to identify potential risks, and then to be able to take appropriate actions in order to isolate and carry out repair works whilst monitoring this operation as well as the water quality as they are undertaking the repairs. This, again, helps to minimise the water disruption incidence. With regard to the other areas where PUB continues to look at how it can minimise water losses, due to leaks as well as other causes, one of the areas would be evaporation loss, say, from the reservoirs. My understanding is that PUB has looked into this and some of the products available − for instance, to apply a product to the water surface of the reservoirs to reduce water loss. But in undertaking an evaluation on the cost effectiveness, my understanding is that it is very expensive. It requires multiple applications because the material will degrade under sunlight.”
“The ARP insurance scheme was awarded via open tender to Great Eastern in 2011. The Ministry of Health (MOH) has decided that there is no need to have more than one provider currently because the pool is relatively small. In 2016, there were about 3,500 policies. But we will review this as necessary, going forward. With regard to the review of our ARP insurance policies, the conditions and criteria, we are looking at them and several issues. We will come to a decision in due course.”
“The Assisted Reproduction Programme (ARP) insurance scheme provides protection against possible high costs in neonatal bills incurred by babies conceived via in-vitro fertilisation (IVF). This is in recognition of the higher risks and costs that these babies potentially face at birth. For example, couples undergoing IVF run a higher risk of multiple pregnancies, and this may result in the premature birth of babies who may need neo-natal intensive care. Couples are currently required to purchase ARP insurance at the point when they enroll for IVF. This makes the insurance premiums more affordable for all couples using IVF. The Ministry of Health (MOH) is currently reviewing this policy. If the requirement to purchase insurance is deferred to a later stage, such as upon successful pregnancies from IVF, the risk pool will be smaller and the insurance premiums higher.”
“I thank the Member for the supplementary question. As the Member has rightly noted, social egg freezing is currently disallowed in Singapore and there are various reasons for this. Whilst the medical risks can be addressed through regulation as well as enhanced public education and counselling of potential users, there are social and ethical implications that have to be considered carefully. Couples may delay marriage and parenthood thinking that egg freezing would assure them that they can have a child later on in life when they wish to conceive. Age-related fertility issues actually affect both men and women. The best way to ensure having a healthy child, really, is when couples are relatively young and healthy. Nonetheless, we note the feedback that we have received. We are currently carefully considering the implications of allowing social egg freezing. We are monitoring international developments in the field of social egg freezing. We will review our position, taking into account the experiences of countries that have implemented this, as well as, of course, the proper safeguards that we need, for instance, the regulatory framework, to ensure or safeguard patients' safety should social egg freezing be allowed, as well as social and medical implications, and the prevailing societal norms and culture.”
“Egg freezing is currently only allowed either as part of an in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) procedure for married women, or for women diagnosed with medical conditions, such as cancer, for which the treatment may damage or destroy their ovarian functions. At present, the Ministry of Health monitors the number of IVF cycles carried out, rather than the egg freezing procedures conducted. From 2013 to 2015, an annual average of 2,700 and 1,400 fresh IVF cycles was carried out respectively in public and private assisted reproduction centres. Based on estimates from licensed centres conducting IVF, complications from over-stimulation of ovaries, which could result in abdominal pain and vomiting in severe cases, occur in less than 1% of the cases. Likewise, the risk of infection and bleeding is low, with a prevalence of less than 1%. This is consistent with the low prevalence of operative risks conducted overseas. Studies overseas indicate that the prevalence of complications from over-stimulation of ovaries ranges from 0.1% to 2%, and that of infection and bleeding at about 1% of cases.”
“And there are materials available, say, at the waiting areas of hospitals on maternal depression, too. But I agree with the Member. We need to see how we can continue to strengthen our efforts to engage and reach out to, not just the pregnant women, their spouses and family members but also the public in general, including, of course, employers. In fact, HPB has got a management training workshop for employers to help the HR personnel, for instance, to identify symptoms of depression. 12.30 pm”
“With regard to the first question, MOH, in 2010 developed a clinical practice guideline on depression, which is available to all practitioners, both in the private and public hospitals. It includes a section on maternal depression. Clinicians and doctors are encouraged and advised to ask the women specific questions to detect if they perhaps may have antenatal or postnatal depression and then to refer them for appropriate help, say, with a psychiatrist or intervention appropriately. Besides that, the obstetrician who manages the women during the period of pregnancy are expected to identify symptoms of antenatal or postnatal depression and then to refer them for appropriate intervention, treatment or follow up. And they can also actually refer them to the programmes in KKH and NUH. In addition to that, HPB, for instance, recently worked with KKH to have a module in the Health Hub Track called Healthy Pregnancy Plan. It also talks about symptoms of antenatal and postnatal depression, signs to look out for, provides information and resources and help that can be provided. Hospitals like KKH also publicise or raise awareness of maternal depression through forums, talks, videos. From the delivery of the baby, HPB has got the Healthy Start for Your Baby Guide which they provide to every mother, both in the private and public hospitals which provide maternal services. It also includes sections on the mother's overall health and well-being and how to look out for postnatal blues, how to mitigate this before it develops into postnatal depression. Of course, antenatal sessions conducted by the hospitals also include sessions on ante and postnatal depression and these classes can be attended by both the women as well as the spouses.”
“SGH has a psychiatry clinic located within the obstetric-gynaecology specialist outpatient clinic and obstetricians who pick up women with antenatal and postnatal depression symptoms can refer them to the psychiatry clinic.”
“Most pregnant women are managed by the obstetricians during their pregnancy. They play a major role in identifying antenatal and postnatal depression symptoms, both in the private and public sectors. KKH and NUH covers 90% of the public sector deliveries. Since 2007, KKH and NUH have been funded under the National Mental Health Blueprint to provide screening and early intervention for postnatal depression. The NUH Women's Emotional Health Service (WEHS) and KKH's Postnatal Depression Intervention Programme (PDIP) provide depression screening at two to eight weeks postpartum, during outpatient postnatal reviews at the specialist clinics. Under the NUH WEHS, women are also screened antenatally at three time points − registration, trimester two and trimester three. Both programmes accept patients referred from other hospitals, including private hospitals. Since 2007, both programmes have screened around 80,050 women; and 818 women were subsequently referred to and seen by psychiatrists for further follow-up. Women who are screened positive for depression would be managed by a multi-disciplinary team comprising a psychiatrist, case manager and a psychologist. The women and their family members will also be given useful contacts and information on managing their emotional health. Both programmes also provide antenatal talks and classes open to women and their spouses, covering antenatal and postnatal depression and on keeping emotionally well during and after pregnancy. Through various media platforms, KKH also raises public awareness on postnatal depression. SGH covers the remaining 10% of public sector deliveries.”
“I think when we review the age at which we capped the ART co-funding, really it is based on evidence. As shown from statistics, the success rates drop drastically after age 35; for women above 40, it is at about 6%. Therefore, we will continue to see what the success rates are before we consider whether we can extend. But at this point in time, there is no decision to extend this age limit.”
“The ART co-funding was enhanced in 2013, along with the MediSave withdrawal for ACP that was also enhanced in 2013. We have been monitoring the average bill sizes and we will review if the average bill sizes rise such that it significantly affects affordability.”
“The success rates for Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) decline with increasing age and, in fact, drops precipitously after the maternal age of 35. For public centres, success rates are 29.5% for women below 30, 27.1% for women from 30 to 35, 16.1% for women from 36 to 40, and 6.1% for women above 40. A similar trend is observed in the private centres, where the success rates stand at 26.7% for women below 30, 24.6% for women from 30 to 35, 17.3% for women from 36 to 40, and 6.7% for women above 40. Our clinical data also shows that, overall, from 2013 to 2015, the average ART success rates are 21.3% at the public centres and 19% at the private centres.”
“Indeed, we do have programmes that we have recently implemented to help those who are interested to join the hawker trade to do so, including, of course, those who may have been retrenched and are looking to join the hawker trade, perhaps as a second pathway. On the recommendations of the Hawker Centre 3.0 Committee, we have launched a Hawker Fare series where aspiring hawkers can learn tips and culinary skills from veteran hawkers. We have started this series and it has been overwhelmingly subscribed. We are also going to start a hawkerpreneur course with ITE College West where they will teach aspiring hawkers simple skills on how to run a hawker stall, pricing and so on, as well as even how to apply and bid for a hawker stall so that they will be able to bid at a realistic price, at a rent that their business can sustain. In addition, at the end of the year, we are looking at introducing some incubator stalls at some of our hawker centres. For aspiring hawkers who qualify, there will be certain criteria that they will have to qualify and they can try out their skills and their acumen at these incubator stalls before they actually take the plunge and join the hawker trade. I think that some of the other policies we have implemented in recent years, for instance, removing the reserve rent as well as controlling assignment and subletting, actually also help to lower the entry barrier for aspiring hawkers so that it will discourage the tendency to bid at very unrealistic prices.”
“I know that besides the assistance that we have given in terms of rental rebate, for instance, the service and conservancy charges rebates for two months as well as various other help that I have mentioned, the Central CDC has come up with various schemes to help them, including a transitional assistance programme and another new scheme that they are coming up with to help ensure or to help the SRHZ users at the lock-up stalls to give them a good chance to make sure that they can carry on their business there. In addition to that, she also asked how we can make sure that we continue to engage them. Actually, our place managers do visit the SRHZ users who have already set up stalls at the markets and even at the flea markets to see how they are doing, and to see if additional assistance needs to be rendered. Regarding relocation, I think I have answered that earlier. Mr Kok Heng Leun also asked about relocation. As I have said, the nature of SRHZ has changed over the years. In fact, we have allowed SRHZ to continue for as long as possible, but now that it is needed for redevelopment and we have to close it, plus the nature of the site has changed over the years and given that the sale of such goods is not just limited to SRHZ, we have helped them to relocate to other areas, like hawker centres as well as flea markets. I have also noted that there is a natural clustering now. Most of the SRHZ users are now relocated either in Chinatown Market or in Golden Mile Food Centre, as well as the Kreta Ayer flea market, all of which are actually very near SRHZ and all of which, if you look at it, the goods sold are not really incompatible with what the SRHZ users are selling.”
“We should encourage and help them. Members of the community who are concerned could also help them, for instance, by patronising their stalls. For the other 70, they have actually come forward and said they may need help, but that they want to wait until after the closure of SRHZ to decide and, as I have said earlier, we will help them. We will continue to see how we can assist them after the closure. I think that the users of SRHZ do not need to ply their trade in order to stay healthy. In fact, pushing the cart and so on may actually be detrimental to their health if they do not do it properly. We have many programmes in the community, for instance, the PA's health and wellness programmes that our seniors can participate in to stay socially active and engaged, and also physically active. Regarding the second question, which is quite similar to Er Dr Lee Bee Wah's question about how to ensure that they continue to be supported, first, let me place on record that we want to thank Mayor Denise Phua and the Central CDC for the tremendous help that her officers and herself have given during the last few months in engaging the SRHZ users, not just onsite, nearly every week onsite, but also offsite through phone calls, visits to the SRHZ users to see what kind of assistance could be rendered.”
“I thank the Member for her supplementary questions. With regard to the first question on how many users rely on SRHZ for their livelihoods, based on our engagement with these users on the ground as well as how the health of the SRHZ users would be affected with the closure of SRHZ, let me say, as I have replied in my response earlier, that we have engaged more than 200 SRHZ users. Just by way of comparison, during the weekends, which is the peak of SRHZ when most of the users will be there to ply their trade and sell their goods, there are usually about 200 SRHZ users. So, our engagement has been quite comprehensive. Of the more than 200 that we have engaged, actually more than 80 have said that they do not need assistance after the closure of SRHZ. They have given various reasons. Some say they can support themselves. Some say their family can support them. For others, they have full-time jobs. They go to SRHZ to ply their goods perhaps on the weekends. For some, they say they ply their goods as a hobby and they have decided to stop after the closure of SRHZ although, if they wish to, they can actually continue at the flea markets. We have helped all those who have come forward to ask for assistance. More than 60 have been assisted, one way or the other. Some have been allocated lock-up stalls. As I have said, 29 have been allocated lock-up stalls, including Mr Tang Kong Yuen who is the Vice President of the Association for the Recycling of Second-hand Goods, and 11 of them have already started operating their lock-up stalls. Sixteen have been given flea market stalls, and some have already started operating. These users have the entrepreneurial spirit. They have embraced change and decided to move on and have, in fact, started operating their stalls.”
“So, notwithstanding this, obviously, if there are other ground-up efforts in terms of flea markets that the community wants to create and put up, some of these SRHZ users conceivably can also join them.”
“I would like to thank the Member for his supplementary question. As I have said earlier, we understand that SRHZ holds fond memories for a number of Singaporeans. In fact, because of that, we have got NHB to do research as well as documentation and put this up together with the virtual tour on their heritage portal. SRHZ used to be a place where you could find very unique antiques, knick-knacks and so on but, over time, the nature of the site has changed, both in terms of the profile of the users of the site, as well as the buyers and the type of goods sold. In fact, if you go to SHRZ now, the most common type of goods sold there, are not necessarily second-hand goods, but second-hand goods, such as clothes, watches, handphone covers, cables, as well as shoes, that is, goods that are not unique to or only sold at SRHZ. In fact, you can find them in neighbourhood shops, too. Indeed, the sale of second-hand goods is not limited to SRHZ. There are already existing avenues where such goods are sold, say, in the existing flea markets, which are also ground-up initiatives from the community mostly, and also online. So, in view of that, for SRHZ users who want to continue to ply the trade, we are offering them relocation alternatives, concrete relocation alternatives, either in lock-up stalls in the hawker centres and markets, or at existing flea markets where the goods sold are not incompatible with what the SRHZ users want to sell. In fact, by offering them, say, lock-up stalls, it is a more sustainable permanent solution, and they can actually use it to expand their offerings beyond what they are selling currently. As I have said, during transition, there is bound to be some uncertainties, and we are doing our very best to help them.”
“If they require other assistance, for instance, if they decide to change trade to look for a job, we will also work with the agencies to help them with that. For those who have not given us their contact information, they can come forward to NEA and we will coordinate this on a whole-of-Government basis.”
“I would like to thank the Member for her supplementary questions. Regarding the first question, about how we can ensure that they succeed in the lock-up stalls in the hawker centres or markets or in the flea markets, as I have said earlier, we understand that in any change of business, for instance, business locations, a transition is required and it is not unexpected that business could be slow in the beginning. So, to ease them into the transition, we have provided, as I have said, rental rebates as well as offer short training courses that will provide them with tips on merchandising, display and so on at the shops, as well as, of course, now we have put up information at the SRHZ itself to tell the customers there where some of these stalls or these users have relocated to. We are also working with them to come up with flyers that they can distribute to let their customers know where they are. In addition, I understand that there is also help, for instance, from Central CDC, from Mayor Denis Phua and her team, in transitional assistance to help them at the flea market and also at the stalls, and various schemes. And I know also, as I have said, that the Hawkers' Association at Chinatown as well as at Golden Mile have actually welcomed the SRHZ users who are going to set up stalls there and even offered them membership into the Hawkers' Association so that they can integrate into the community. With regard to the 70 who have said that they will only decide after the closure of SRHZ, for those who have given us their contact information, we will continue to engage them even after the closure and see what kind of assistance they need. If they require flea market stalls and so on, we will help them to apply.”
“I would like to assure Members of the House that my Ministry will continue to work with the relevant agencies to engage and support the SRHZ users through their transition and ensure that necessary help is rendered to them even after the closure of SRHZ. We would also like to encourage the community to continue to support the SRHZ users, for example, by patronising their stalls in hawker centres and flea markets.”
“For example, one of them is a 61-year-old man who is receiving assistance while he makes the transition to his new job as a cleaner at a primary school. All in, the agencies have engaged about 200 users of SRHZ, most of whom are between the ages of 40 and 65. All SRHZ users who are in need of help and have come forward are being assisted. More than 60 of them are now receiving some form of Government assistance, including those who have been allocated stalls. Another 70 or so had earlier indicated interest to receive assistance. However, they have not yet come forward to apply as many of them have indicated that they will decide on their future plans only after the closure of SRHZ. More than 80 SRHZ users, however, have told us that they do not require any assistance after the closure of SRHZ. This is because they are able to support themselves, or their families can support them, or they have full-time jobs elsewhere. Some have shared that they have been plying their trade at SRHZ as a hobby occasionally on the weekends and will discontinue doing so once SRHZ closes. Besides the assistance given by Government agencies, many Grassroots Advisers and community leaders have also been visiting the SRHZ users residing in their constituencies on a one-on-one basis in their homes to see if they require further community assistance. Those in need have been offered community support, such as job referrals and financial help, to tide them over the transition period. Others have also been encouraged to join the health and wellness programmes organised by their Residents' Committee (RC) as a good way to stay active after the closure of SRHZ. We would like to thank all who have given their views and suggestions in support of the SRHZ users.”
“For example, in some existing flea markets, such as that at Kreta Ayer, which have been in existence for some 15 years, there have always been vendors who sell second-hand goods items. We also recognise that some of the users would prefer not to operate daily and wish to sell their goods at flea markets instead of operating a lock-up stall. To this end, NEA has worked with the People's Association (PA) and the Central Singapore Community Development Council (CDC) to assist the SRHZ users to tap on existing flea markets. So far, 16 SRHZ users have applied for stalls at the flea markets at various locations, including those near their homes. A majority of those who have chosen to continue their trade at flea markets have, in fact, moved to the Kreta Ayer flea market which is located between Block 4 Sago Lane and Chinatown Complex. I note that there have also been calls for the Government to engage the users of SRHZ deeply. I would like to take this opportunity to share that we have, indeed, been doing so. Over the past few months, NEA has been working with the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), Workforce Singapore (WSG) and Central Singapore CDC to proactively engage the SRHZ users onsite, as well as offsite, to offer various forms of assistance after the closure of the site. Besides assistance with getting stalls at hawker centres and flea markets, WSG has been providing job placement assistance to the SRHZ users who wish to seek employment. MSF and the Central Singapore CDC have also been actively helping those who require financial assistance to get financial help through the ComCare scheme and other schemes. So far, 18 out of the 23 individuals who applied for financial assistance are assessed to be eligible and have received financial assistance.”
“Other SRHZ users who have taken up such stalls have also indicated that they intend to move on to also sell new items, such as shoes and accessories, beyond the second-hand items that they used to sell. The National Environment Agency (NEA) has set aside more than 40 lock-up stalls at hawker centres for those SRHZ users who wish to carry on their trade. To assist them in their transition, we have offered the 11 original permit holders a 100% rental rebate for the first year and a 50% rental rebate for the second year. For all other users, we have offered a 50% rental rebate for the first two years on a goodwill basis, provided they live in public housing and do not own more than one property. So far, 29 SRHZ users have been allocated a lock-up stall. Many of these stalls are clustered at two popular hawker centres not too far from SRHZ − the Chinatown Market and the Golden Mile Food Centre. The Hawkers' Associations at these two centres have, in fact, invited the SRHZ users who have taken up stalls there to join them, which is an important step to help the users integrate into the local hawker centre community. To further assist these SRHZ users in their transition to the new business environment, NEA will facilitate training for those interested in getting tips on merchandising and display of their items for sale. NEA has also put out information on their new business locations so that the SRHZ users' clientele and those who wish to buy second-hand goods can go to these locations after SRHZ closes. Today, the sale of second-hand goods in Singapore is not limited to SRHZ. Nor does it have to be done solely at hawker centres.”
“We understand that SRHZ holds memories for some Singaporeans. The National Heritage Board (NHB), therefore, conducted research and documentation to preserve the memories of the site for future generations. A virtual tour of the site as well as other resources are available on NHB's heritage portal, "roots.sg". Singaporeans have also contributed their personal stories, photographs and videos on social media. Since 2012, we have informed the Association for the Recycling of Second Hand Goods that notice would be given to the users of SRHZ to cease their operations once the development plans for the Sungei Road area are confirmed. This was also mentioned to this House in 2012. Now that the site where SRHZ is located is required by the Ministry of National Development (MND) for ground preparation works to facilitate future public housing development, the last day of operations of SRHZ will be 10 July 2017. We note that there are calls, including a Petition presented earlier by the Member, Mr Kok Heng Leun, for SRHZ to be relocated. Indeed, SRHZ users who wish to continue their trade can do so at appropriate venues, such as hawker centres, where there are better facilities and necessary amenities for users to conduct their businesses, or at existing flea markets, where these activities can be properly managed. This is similar to how street hawkers in the past have moved on to purpose-built hawker centres and markets. Users may also take advantage of the opportunities that these new business locations present. For example, Mdm Tan Guo Mei, who was featured in the news recently, took the opportunity when she moved to a lock-up stall at a hawker centre to expand her offerings to include new goods which she can sell at all times and not be exposed to the weather elements.”
“Thank you. Street hawking, or the peddling of goods on the streets, was common in Singapore several decades ago. If we look at the old photos of street hawking, we can see the poor hygiene conditions, the pollution of waterways, the piles of waste that attracted pests, the potential fire hazards and the obstruction to traffic that resulted in disamenities to the residents at such localities. The Government thus undertook to relocate the street hawkers to purpose-built hawker centres and markets. Many street hawkers had made the transition well, making use of the sheltered facilities to sell their goods and going on to expand their offerings. However, not all the street hawkers were resettled and 31 rag-and-bone men were given permits to continue their trade at the Sungei Road site in view of their chosen trade. In 2000, when their permits expired, the site was designated as the Sungei Road Hawking Zone (SRHZ). Only 11 of the 31 original permit holders still remain today. Through the years, many others have taken the opportunity to peddle their goods for free at SRHZ. However, the activities of SRHZ have resulted in disamenities, such as the obstruction of roads and the storage of goods in surrounding areas, including the nearby drains and housing estate, posing risks to public health and incurring additional public resources for the upkeep of the public areas. Despite this, we have continued to allow SRHZ to remain in operation for as long as we could, even though the area has been zoned for residential use. In fact, when the Jalan Besar Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station was being constructed in 2011, instead of removing the whole SRHZ, the size of SRHZ was reduced as required, so that SRHZ could continue to stay open.”
“I thank the Member for his suggestion. I would assume that under the syllabus when the lecturers do this training, that could have already been shared. But having said that, I think that it is a good idea and I will make sure this is part of the training sessions and sharings.”
“Again, I thank the Member for the question and suggestion. Let me say that if the hawker centre is managed by NEA and it is not HDB-owned, the hawkers' association will work together with us in terms of procuring the cleaning contractors and ensuring the cleanliness of the area and so on. What the Member is referring to is when it is HDB-owned and the Town Council is in charge of the common areas, including the hawker centres, and then the cleaning is procured by the hawkers' association. NEA will assist in the coordination and work closely with the Town Councils as well as the hawkers' associations to address challenges if there are two different contractors. In relation, say, in the case of a food court, which was the original question filed by the Member, then there would not be this issue. But having said that, as I have noted, we know that every infringement is one infringement too many because it concerns food safety and public health and, therefore, we will continue to look at ways to tackle this and prevent such occurrences.”
“Given the nature of the F&B industry, with high turnover, and a large number of part-time or temporary workers, it will be a challenge to require all workers to do this, not to add that there will be impact on business cost. In fact, mandating that all their food handlers must be trained under BFHC and registered before they can start work is already raised as a pain point by the F&B industry although we need to ensure that this is complied with. One of the key infringements is using unregistered food handlers. At this point, our view is that it is not necessary to register or mandate BFHC for all other workers, except the food handlers, where there is really no direct impact on food safety as well as public health. But notwithstanding this, let me say that we will continue to ensure that we enforce strictly on infringements.”
“I thank the Member for his supplementary question and suggestion. First, NEA currently requires all food handlers, that is, those who prepare or handle food, to attend and pass a basic food hygiene course, as well as a refresher course to ensure sustained awareness of food hygiene practices. So, the basic food hygiene course will have courses on personal and food hygiene, proper food storage, upkeep of cleanliness of the premises and so on. But in addition to this, NEA also regularly sends advisories as well as collaterals, like posters and stickers, to our food retail establishments, which they can then use as informational materials for their workers. Additionally, we also regularly conduct sharing, briefing sessions as well as provide newsletters to all our stakeholders, including the licensees as well as the food and beverage (F&B) associations on food hygiene practices as well as prevailing hygiene situations and so on in that industry. Again, this can be shared, not just with the operators but also with all their workers. Additionally, as I have said earlier, we have an FHO scheme, and restaurants of a certain size as well as food courts, canteens, caterers, are required to appoint a senior staff, a supervisor or operations manager, and even the sous chef, to be trained and appointed as FHOs so that they are responsible for implementing and ensuring good food hygiene practices as well as supervision, and ensuring that their other workers also comply. In addition, when we consider if we should mandate all workers in the food retail establishments to be trained under the Basic Food Hygiene Course (BFHC), we need to take into consideration several factors like the practicality of doing it, the effectiveness as well as the possible impact on business cost.”
“32% or less of the food retail establishments were implicated in food poisoning outbreaks each year. This suggests that the systems put in place were effective deterrents against poor food hygiene practices. Nonetheless, we cannot be complacent and must continue to maintain our strict stance on food safety. NEA has implemented programmes, such as the Food Hygiene Officer (FHO) Scheme for restaurants, food courts, school canteens and caterers and the Food Safety Management System (FSMS) for caterers. These programmes are aimed at ensuring that operators of food retail establishments put in place preventive measures to maintain a high standard of food and personal hygiene among food handlers, as well as to upkeep the cleanliness of the premises. NEA officers educate operators on proper food hygiene practices during inspections. In addition, NEA carries out outreach and educational programmes, such as the "My Eatery Shines" programme in the South-West District and the "Good Refuse Management in Food Shops" and "CLEAN Food Everyday − Food Caterers" programmes in the North-West District. Through these programmes, NEA works with operators and stall owners to improve their cleaning and refuse management regimes and partners the grassroots organisations to educate the public on keeping food shops clean. Members of the public can check the individual food retail establishments' hygiene records and suspension records by visiting our NEA website, using the myENV mobile application or scanning the Quick Response (QR) code on the licences displayed at the food retail establishments. Members of the public who come across poor hygiene practices in food retail establishments can contact our NEA's 24-hour Call Centre to provide information for NEA's investigation.”
“Thank you. The National Environment Agency (NEA) currently licenses more than 37,000 food retail establishments, including restaurants, food kiosks, caterers and food stalls within hawker centres, coffee shops and food courts, to ensure that the food sold is prepared hygienically and safe for consumption. NEA conducts regular inspections of food retail establishments to ensure compliance with hygiene standards and takes enforcement actions against establishments that do not practise proper food hygiene. Common hygiene-related infringements include failing to register food handlers, selling food that is unclean and failing to keep the premises clean or free of pest infestation. Licensees are liable for a maximum fine of $2,000 upon conviction of such offences. They are also awarded demerit points for each offence committed and, upon accumulating 12 demerit points within a 12-month period, their licences will be suspended for two weeks as an additional penalty. Recalcitrant licensees may have their licences cancelled. In 2016, NEA carried out more than 148,000 inspections and over 3,200 enforcement actions were taken against food retail establishments, an increase from around 2,500 in 2013. About a third of the enforcement actions were taken against stalls in food courts, coffee shops or canteens. Correspondingly, the number of licences that were suspended increased from 62 in 2013 to 132 in 2016. Of the 132 licences suspended in 2016, 60 involved stalls in food courts, coffee shops and canteens, up from 14 in 2013. Meanwhile, the food poisoning incidence rate at food retail establishments had remained low, being consistently maintained at 3.2 food poisoning outbreaks per 1,000 food retail establishments or below since 2013. This means that 0.”
“Indeed, we are forming a committee to look into the curricular of our nurses in terms of training as well as curricular on the roles they play. That is part of our Future Nursing Career Review Committee's work. We will be engaging the nurses themselves as well as the various stakeholders to look into the training requirements as well as the curricular. Indeed, as we talk about nurses doing what they are passionate about, what they are interested in, which is in clinical care, we are looking at, first of all, productivity initiatives, cutting processes which are not necessary, redesigning jobs and so on. In addition, where there are jobs which could be done by others, say, healthcare support assistants and so on, that would also be taken into account. For the nurses, as I have said in the speech, for ENs, we will look at allowing them to do higher order jobs, higher value-added jobs, take on deeper roles. For RNs, there is this group of nurses, for instance, whom we call, "Advanced Practice Nurses". Many of the Advanced Practice Nurses are holding sessions in the community, for instance, educating patients as well as doing some medication work, which they are allowed to do. We will look at their scope of work and review them.”
“Indeed, the healthcare institutions do practise policies to ensure that there is diversity in their workforce. In the case of the disabled, for instance, they work with the various institutions representing the disabled community to employ the disabled where there is a job fit. In our hospitals now, there are already people from the disabled community who are employed. In terms of integration or assimilating people of different nationalities, especially the foreign workforce, there are orientation programmes to help the foreign workforce to integrate and assimilate into the workplace.”
“As I have explained earlier, we will do pre-licensing checks and then compliance checks after we have licensed them and, if necessary, also audits by independent auditors. There is also a home nursing visitors programme where these volunteers will go in and they will get feedback from the residents as well as the families and access the home environment. What we do is put up the licence period of all the nursing homes on our website, including the kind of services they provide. From the licensing term that has been given, you would know if they had complied fully with our enhanced nursing home standards.”
“This is in regard to Dr Neo's idea of providing services to homes, cluster kind of concept on assisted living. Let me say that, indeed, it is a very good idea. In line with her idea, we are already working with MND and HDB to look at new housing forms as well as care services. In some ways, we are already doing this. For instance, in the Kampung Admiralty Integrated Hub, there will be an active ageing hub that will provide senior care as well as active ageing programmes and homecare and home monitoring from the Active Ageing Hub for residents living in the studio apartments in that integrated hub.”
“We have also awarded 1,200 scholarships for training in healthcare disciplines locally and overseas. I do not think we have a target but what we want to do is to make sure that we build up a strong local workforce.”