Indranee Rajah
Singapore
“Mr Speaker, I would like to make a clarification in relation to two written answers on childcare leave issued by the Prime Minister's Office on 25 September 2025 and 3 February 2026 in response to Parliamentary Questions filed by Members of Parliament Ms Cassandra Lee and Ms Valerie Lee respectively.”
“Based on Year of Assessment (YA) 2025 data, about 9,500 working mothers claimed a lower amount of Working Mother's Child Relief (WCMR) under the fixed-dollar basis than they would have under the previous percentage-based basis, for children born or adopted on or after 1 January 2024.”
“We regularly receive feedback on enhancing child-related leave provisions, including the Member's suggestion. In recent years, parental leave provisions have been significantly enhanced, such that parents now have 30 weeks of paid leave, including 10 weeks of Shared Parental Leave.”
“The Government does not have data on the number of transactions involving multiple units on a single residential title that have not been subdivided. Such properties are treated as a single property for Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) purposes when it is bought, so no ABSD is foregone.”
“The Government publishes data on personal income tax, which is publicly available on www.data.gov.sg. This includes data on the number of course fees relief claimants and the amount of the relief granted. The Member may refer to the website to access the data for the first three questions.”
“In considering the duration of leave, we will look at the need. In this case, as I have explained, there is a difference between those who give birth physically to a child and those who adopt.”
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“And with your permission, may I take Question Nos 4 and 5 together now?”
“Mdm Deputy Speaker, I beg to move, "That Parliament do now adjourn." [(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)] [Deputy Speaker (Mr Christopher de Souza) in the Chair] Nurturing a Thriving, Innovative and Sustainable Hawker Industry as a Cornerstone of Singaporean Culture 8.13 pm”
“Mdm Deputy Speaker, I thank the Member for her clarification. I just wanted to take this opportunity to remind all Members of the House that the law confers on Members of Parliament privilege in the House and immunity, which means that it must be exercised responsibly. And I just wanted to remind Members of the House that when assertions and allegations are made, Members must be prepared to substantiate them. This is just a reminder to Members so that in future they will understand, if they make an assertion, they may be called upon to substantiate it, especially if an assertion is made against an agency which is not in a position to defend itself.”
“Mdm Deputy Speaker, may I seek your consent and the general assent of hon Members present to move that the proceedings on the item under discussion be exempted from the provisions of Standing Order 48(8) to remove the time limit in respect of the Minister for Home Affair's speech?”
“I thank Mr Chua for that clarification. So, the report said that URA does not regulate the commissions. In fact, URA does not ask for information on the commissions. I think he also said that the report said that the Ministry would engage the developers for information and provide feedback. I think the engagement of developers is something URA and the Ministry does regularly, but specifically on sales commissions, as I have mentioned, the Government does not collect data on that; and that is a private arrangement between the developers and the sales agents.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, I am not familiar with the specific wording of that report and, perhaps, in order for me to address that question, does Mr Louis Chua have the exact wording of the report?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That Parliament do now adjourn." [(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)]”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, I beg to move, "That the debate be now adjourned." [(proc text) Resolved, "That the debate be now adjourned." – [Ms Indranee Rajah] (proc text)]”
“Mdm Deputy Speaker, I beg to move, "That Parliament do now adjourn." [(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)]”
“Mdm Deputy Speaker, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Third time." [(proc text) Question put, and agreed to. (proc text)] [(proc text) Bill accordingly read a Third time and passed. (proc text)]”
“Mdm Deputy Speaker, I beg to move, "That Parliament doth agree with the Committee on the said resolution." [(proc text) Question put, and agreed to. (proc text)] [(proc text) Resolution accordingly agreed to. (proc text)]”
“Mdm Deputy Speaker, I beg to report that the Committee of Supply has come to a certain resolution. [(proc text) Resolution reported – (proc text)] [(proc text) That the sum of $1,706,000,000 shall be supplied to the Government under the Heads of Expenditure for the public services shown in the Supplementary Main Estimates of Expenditure for the Financial Year 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022, as amended, contained in Paper Cmd 7 of 2021. (proc text)]”
“Mdm Chairperson, the Supplementary Estimates of $67 million for Head W, as printed in Paper Cmd 7 of 2021 are no longer required after taking into account further under-utilisation identified in the Ministry of Transport (MOT)’s operating expenditure due to disruptions arising from COVID-19. MOT has surfaced under-utilisation of $198 million. This is more than the $67 million of additional funds originally sought for and printed in Paper Cmd 7 of 2021. The appropriations for MOT should be reduced by an amount of $131 million, and this is reflected in the Supplementary Supply and Budget Adjustments (FY 2021) Bill introduced on 26 July 2021.”
“Mdm Chairperson, I beg to move, "That the total sum to be allocated to Head Z of the Main Estimates be increased by $680,000,000". The increase is to support affected businesses and individuals during periods of heightened safe management measures through the Jobs Support Scheme and rental relief as announced by the Minister for Finance's Ministerial Statement on 26 July 2021. [(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)]”
“Deputy Speaker, may I seek your consent and the general assent of Members present to move a Motion for amendments to be taken in the Committee of Supply on the Supplementary Estimates of Expenditure for FY2021/2022 so as to increase the allocation of sums in the Estimates. The Supplementary Estimates of Expenditure for FY2021/2022 were previously submitted to fund the support measures for the earlier Phase Two (Heightened Alert) and Phase Three (Heightened Alert) restrictions, as detailed by the Minister for Finance in his Ministerial Statement on 5 July 2021. Following the recent reversion to Phase Two (Heightened Alert) restrictions, it has been necessary to provide additional support measures for workers and businesses as explained by the Minister for Finance in his Ministerial Statement on 26 July 2021. The proposed amendments to the Heads of Expenditure to be taken in the Committee of Supply will allow the House to vote on the increased funds required for these additional measures.”
“Mdm Deputy Speaker, Mr Louis Ng, in his speech earlier, said that as I was in MOF and NPTD, he hoped that I could deliver both time and money. I am about to do both. Mdm Deputy Speaker, may I seek your consent and the general assent of hon Members present to move that the proceedings on the item under discussion be exempted from the provisions of Standing Order 48(8) to remove the time limit in respect of the Minister for Finance's speech?”
“Mdm Deputy Speaker, may I seek your consent and the general assent of Members present to move a Motion to take the proceedings on the business set down on the Order Paper for today beyond the moment of interruption?”
“Deputy Speaker, may I seek your consent and the general assent of Members present to move a Motion to allow items 3 and 4 appearing in today’s Order Paper to be proceeded with simultaneously as though the debate were on a single Motion. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Ministerial Statements delivered by the Minister for Finance on 5 and 26 July both concern measures to support workers and businesses through Phase Two (Heightened Alert) and Phase Three (Heightened Alert). Consequently, the matters for consideration and debate under both Motions would cover common ground and related issues. This business Motion will allow Members to speak on both Motions in a single speech and to debate both Ministerial Statements in a more holistic manner. It will also allow the Minister for Finance to reply to the Members comprehensively in a single speech. At the end of the debate, both Motions will lapse, pursuant to Standing Order 44.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, may I seek your consent and the general assent of Members present to move a Motion to allow the Ministerial Statement on the River Valley High School Incident and items 3 and 4 appearing in today’s Order Paper be taken now, before the House considers the Supplementary Estimates in the Committee of Supply. The Statement from the Minister for Education concerns a matter of importance and significant public interest. It would be efficient for the disposal of Parliament business for the Ministerial Statement to be taken before the resumption of the business of Supply. It will also allow sufficient time for Members to seek clarifications from the Minister for Education on the matter. Thereafter, the House will resume its debate on the Ministerial Statements delivered by the Minister for Finance on 5 and 26 July on the support measures for Phase Two (Heightened Alert) and Phase Three (Heightened Alert). This would allow the House to complete its consideration on the Ministerial Statements before the House proceeds to vote on the sums contained in the Supplementary Estimates for FY2021/2022 and the Supplementary Supply and Budget Adjustments (FY2021) Bill, which reflects the funds required for the plans and programmes outlined in the Ministerial Statements.”
“Mdm Deputy Speaker, I beg to move, "That Parliament do now adjourn." [(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)]”
“The first increases to the RA and REA from 62 to 63 and 67 to 68 respectively will take place on 1 July 2022. The Government has also provided various measures to support companies who employ senior workers. For example, the Senior Worker Support Package includes wage offsets through the Senior Employment Credit, Senior Worker Early Adopter Grant and Part-Time Re-Employment Grant. In addition, the Workfare Income Supplement Scheme has encouraged more senior workers to join the workforce. Workfare supplements the income of lower-wage workers in cash while helping them save for retirement through CPF, with senior workers receiving more. These efforts will allow senior workers who wish to do so to remain engaged, and contribute their experience and expertise to our workplaces.”
“More senior residents1 were employed over the last decade. The employment rate among residents aged 65 and above increased from 17.1% in 2010 to 28.5% in 2020. The employment rate increased for both male and female senior residents, from 26.4% in 2010 to 37.8% in 2020 for male seniors, and from 9.8% in 2010 to 20.6% in 2020 for female seniors. This would have contributed to the increase in the proportion of dual-career couples and the decrease in the proportion of non-employed couples, among married couples in resident households aged 65 and above. The increase in seniors who are economically active and employed is attributable to two main factors. First, our seniors have better health and life expectancy than before, a consequence of measures put in place by the Government over the years to promote healthy living, and to provide affordable and quality healthcare. In 1980, our life expectancy at age 65 was only 14.0 years. In the last decade, life expectancy at age 65 increased from 19.8 years in 2010 to 21.5 years in 2020. The average number of additional years a 65-year-old in Singapore is expected to live in good health2 has increased, from 15.8 years in 2010 to 17.1 years in 2019. This figure is one of the highest in the world. Rising longevity and better health mean that senior residents are able to, and many seek to work for longer. They do so to support themselves, or to continue contributing and remaining active. Second, the Government has made it easier for seniors who can and wish to work to remain employed. The Government has accepted the Tripartite Workgroup on Older Workers’ recommendations, including to increase the Retirement Age (RA) and Re-employment Age (REA) to 65 and 70 respectively by 2030.”
“Couples can also withdraw up to a lifetime limit of $15,000 from their own, or their spouse’s MediSave Account to offset the out-of-pocket payment for Assisted Conception Procedures. In the past, only couples where the women are aged below 40 were eligible for ART co-funding, for up to six cycles. Since last year, women aged 40 and above are able to receive co-funding for two of the six co-funded ART cycles, as long as they have attempted Assisted Reproduction or IUI procedures before age 40. This strikes a balance between providing support to couples with parenthood aspirations and ensuring that public funds are used in a targeted way. Our ongoing Emerging Stronger Conversations on "Building a Singapore that is Made For Families" include engagements with couples with fertility issues, doctors and other fertility experts. These conversations are part of our continued efforts to better understand what Singaporean couples are experiencing, so as to improve our support for marriage and parenthood. Participants have highlighted the need for earlier and better awareness of fertility health facts, and the need to strengthen societal support for couples, both men and women, undergoing fertility treatments. We will factor in their feedback as we review our overall support for fertility health in Singapore.”
“Most Singaporeans want to get married and have children, and supporting them to do so remains a national priority. Clinical evidence indicates that the likelihood of successfully conceiving and carrying a child to term decreases as people get older, even with the use of Assisted Reproduction Technology (ART). For ART treatments performed between 2015 and 2019, success rates exceeded 24% for women aged 34 and below, fell to about 17% for women from ages 35 to 39, and declined further to about 7% for those aged 40 and above. To strengthen the chances of conception, we continue to encourage couples to marry and start families early, as well as to seek treatment early if needed. Nonetheless, we recognise that the circumstances for each couple are unique. Each will have their own reasons for trying to conceive at an older age. We have progressively enhanced our schemes to support married couples who have difficulty conceiving. With medical advancements having improved the safety of ART procedures and reduced the medical risks for women over 40 undergoing ART, we removed the age limit for women to undergo ART treatments, as well as the cap on the number of ART cycles they can go through, last year. We also recognise that a key concern for some couples is the affordability of fertility treatments. The ART co-funding scheme was first introduced in 2008 to help defray the costs of ART treatments at public Assisted Reproduction centres. Today, couples are eligible for co-funding of up to $7,700 per fresh ART cycle, as compared to $6,300 previously. Co-funding for Intra-Uterine Insemination (IUI) was also introduced in January 2020.”
“The Government will continue to monitor the longer term impact of COVID-19 and how it affects our population trends. We will update our strategies to ensure that they remain relevant to our needs. We look forward to partnering Singaporeans and key stakeholders, including through the Singapore Together Alliances for Action, to emerge stronger together from the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“Third, even as we strengthen capabilities of our local workforce, we must continue to tap on global skills and manpower to complement the local workforce and augment skills that are in short supply locally. Some of the opportunities being developed by the EST Alliances for Action will generate new businesses that will need new capabilities and networks that foreign professionals can bring. This in turn will create more good jobs for Singaporeans. We will continue to refine our foreign workforce policy to bring in complementary foreign manpower, while ensuring fair hiring practices, preserving a level playing field for Singaporeans and enabling skills transfer to our people. Next, improving productivity and reducing reliance on lower skilled foreign workers will remain a key priority in our industry transformation efforts. We had made strides in raising productivity before the pandemic. From 2009 to 2019, Singapore’s overall labour productivity, as measured by real value-added per actual hour worked, grew 2.9% per annum. We must build on these efforts. The EST report has emphasised ways in which our businesses can achieve productivity-driven growth through innovation, technology and better use of data. For instance, the Alliances for Action on Digitalising the Built Environment and Robotics are designed to spur productivity in industries like construction and transport. Finally, we will continue to explore ways to harness the productive capacity of our senior population. As Singaporeans live and remain healthy for longer, we must enable senior workers to remain economically active and work for as long as they are able and wish to. This also allows workplaces to tap on the expertise and experience of our senior workers.”
“The Government regularly reviews our population strategies to take into account changes to demographic trends, such as our birth rates and life expectancy. During the Committee of Supply debate in February this year, I shared with the House the impact of COVID-19 on key population trends in 2020 and the population strategies that will enable us to emerge stronger in the post-COVID-19 world. Our population and workforce strategies remain relevant in supporting the recommendations in the Emerging Stronger Taskforce (EST) report. First, Singaporeans continue to be at the heart of our population policies. We must sustain a strong core of Singaporeans in our population and workforce. Marriage and parenthood is a national priority. It is the best way to grow our citizen population and derive a strong local workforce to support our social and economic needs, and sustain future generations of Singaporeans. We support Singaporeans’ aspirations to start and raise families through a comprehensive suite of support measures, including parental leave, childcare support, housing support and cash grants. Second, we must continue to strengthen the capabilities of our local workforce, to ensure that Singaporeans have the skills to seize new economic opportunities. The EST report highlighted the acceleration of digital transformation and innovation, as well as new growth areas such as agritech and sustainability, which can provide good jobs for Singaporeans with the right skills. The Government will continue to partner businesses, trade associations and chambers, Institutes of Higher Learning, training providers and unions to help our local workforce to upskill and reskill, to take on jobs of the future and make the most of the opportunities afforded by our economic strategies.”
“Apart from the AfAs, partnerships such as the Citizens’ Workgroup for Singapore Citizenship Journey and the Citizens’ Workgroup for National Symbols saw Singaporeans work with the Government and one another, on ideas to strengthen our national identity and commitment to Singapore and Singaporeans. These have all been in the spirit of Singapore Together, which is about Singaporeans creating our shared future together. We will continue to grow this ethos and work with Singaporeans, as we grow our partnerships. The future Singapore we aspire to can only be built through a democracy of deeds, where all of us take action to make a difference.”
“First, UPLIFT, which supports disadvantaged students and their families, driven by a shared conviction of ensuring opportunities for all, regardless of their starting points. The UPLIFT community pilot was launched in 2020 and focused on helping students with emerging absenteeism issues. It is on track to support more than 300 students by next year, and more family befrienders are being matched to the families of these children to offer friendship and assistance. Second, the AfA on Emerging Needs and Volunteerism, which has three focus areas: increasing support for mental wellness in the community; providing opportunities for seniors to learn innovatively; and facilitating the matching of donations-in-kind. The AfA is training volunteers, starting with the Yuhua community, to equip them with skills and knowledge in mental wellness to reach out to residents who may require support. To support seniors in the current digital age, the AfA is working with partners on opportunities to enable seniors to learn digital skills and integrate the use of technology into their daily life. The AfA is also partnering the SG Cares Volunteer Centres to better aggregate resources and matching to community needs at the town level. Third, the AfA for Caregivers of Persons with Disabilities, which aims to support this group by co-creating solutions to the issues they face. This AfA will build on the Caregiver Action Map developed by SG Enable and its Coalition of Partners for Caregiver Support, and develop solutions related to self-care and mutual support, to enhance the well-being of caregivers.”
“The Singapore Together Emerging Stronger Conversations were launched in June 2020 as a platform for Singaporeans to reflect on our COVID-19 experience and our aspirations for a more resilient post-COVID-19 society. These Conversations were convened in the midst of the pandemic because it was important to hear from one another on how we were affected by the crisis and how each of us could play a part to help Singapore emerge stronger. In February this year, the Government published a report to take stock of the Conversations and feedback received from 17,000 Singaporeans from all walks of life. The report highlighted 15 key themes that were most discussed, including, as Mr Singh highlighted, Social Support, and National Identity and Shared Values. The latter two encompassed issues like protecting our vulnerable, support for giving and volunteerism, and how we might build a more compassionate and cohesive society. Our focus now is on forging strong and sustained partnerships to turn these shared aspirations into reality. We have been progressively addressing the themes that have come up in the Conversations, through partnerships such as the Singapore Together Alliances for Action or AfAs, Citizens’ Workgroups and others. The AfAs bring together Singaporeans across the People, Private and Public Sectors, to work together on solutions to economic and social issues. To date, 25 AfAs have been announced, including a number relating to enhancing social support and building a more compassionate society. Several of these AfAs are driven by a strong conviction of our shared values, and these values will be manifest in not just the outcomes, but also in the way the initiatives are implemented. Let me highlight a few examples.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That Parliament do now adjourn." [(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)]”
“During the debate on the 2013 Population White Paper, the Government said that we would review the population projections and our policies again nearer to 2020. Since then, the Government has regularly explained population developments and reviewed its approach to population policies, including at the annual Committee of Supply (COS) debates as well as the annual Population in Brief publications. An update on our population outlook was provided during the COS debate in 2018. At that update, the Government said that given recent trends, Singapore’s total population is likely to be significantly below 6.9 million by 2030. The details can be found in the public COS 2018 speech delivered on 1 March 2018. The outlook provided in 2018 that our total population is likely to be significantly below 6.9 million by 2030 remains valid today. Moreover, the ongoing COVID-19 situation has had an impact on our population numbers for 2020. We saw a slight decline in our total population last year but it is too early to assess the full impact at this point. The Government closely monitors population trends and regularly reviews our population policies. We will continue to monitor the longer-term impact of COVID-19 and how it affects our population trends. This will ensure that our population strategies remain relevant to support a vibrant economy, and foster a cohesive society with a strong sense of national identity.”
“Minister Josephine Teo provided an update on our population outlook during the Committee of Supply debate in 2018. In that speech, we also provided an update on the following scenarios1: (a) based on the total fertility rate (TFR) of 1.22 and without immigration, our total citizen population will shrink in the long term. (b) even with immigration, the number of citizens aged 20 to 64 would likely peak around 2020 and decline thereafter. Without immigration, this group would have started to shrink earlier and decline at a much faster rate. The changes to Singapore’s population set out in these scenarios remain valid. While we continue to take in a calibrated number of citizens and permanent residents to moderate the impact of ageing and low birth rates, we maintain a strong and cohesive core. In 2020, around 77% of Singapore residents (comprising Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents) were born in Singapore, while around 87% of citizens were born in Singapore3. The ongoing COVID-19 situation has had an impact on our population numbers for 2020. We saw a slight decline in our total population last year but it is too early to assess the full impact at this point. We will continue to monitor the immediate and longer-term impact of COVID-19 on our population trends and scenarios.”
“The ongoing Emerging Stronger Conversations on "Building a Singapore that is Made for Families" is part of this effort. Many have shared with me that COVID-19 has led us to reassess our priorities and to recognise the value and importance of family in our lives, especially the invaluable support that they provide during challenging times. While marriage and parenthood remain deeply personal decisions, we believe that we can do more as a society to make marriage and parenthood achievable, enjoyable and celebrated, and families a central part of our lives.”
“The Government has progressively invested in accessible and affordable child and student care facilities, and increased the number of preschool places over the years. Full-day preschool places have more than doubled – from 90,000 in 2012, to around 190,000 today. This will increase to over 200,000 places by 2023. Last year, we increased the qualifying income ceiling and quantum of means-tested preschool subsidies, enabling more families to benefit. By around 2025, 80% of preschoolers can have a place in an affordable Government-supported quality preschool. We have also increased the number of Student Care Centres (SCCs) places over the years. Today, more than 400 SCCs are registered with MSF to administer the Student Care Fee Assistance (SCFA) scheme under ComCare, which subsidises the student care fees for eligible children. This includes SCCs that are located in all 186 Primary schools. Registered SCCs provide around 48,000 student care places today, with more than sufficient capacity. To foster family-friendly workplaces, the Government continues to work with tripartite partners to support and promote the adoption of flexible work arrangements (FWAs) and other relevant practices. Last year, 93% of companies offered some form of formal or ad hoc FWAs. This year, we launched the Tripartite Standard on Work-Life Harmony to further promote the adoption of FWAs and employee support schemes, and set up the Alliance for Action on Work-Life Harmony to raise awareness on work-life practices and support employers who face challenges in implementing them. We intend to encourage employers to treat FWAs as a regular workplace feature. We will continue to gather feedback and refine our measures to support Singaporeans on issues that matter most to them.”
“The trends reported in Census 2020 include rising singlehood and fewer children born to married women, leading to declining birth and fertility rates. They reflect shifts in societal norms and values towards marriage and parenthood over time. These trends are not new or unique to Singapore, and are also observed in other advanced societies. More recently, the restrictions and disruptions caused by COVID-19 have resulted in marriages being delayed, thereby also affecting births in many countries. We continually review our policies to ensure that they remain relevant and effective in supporting family formation. Supporting Singaporeans who wish to start and raise families remains a national priority. The Government has invested significant resources in our measures, to strengthen support for marriage and parenthood. For example, in 2019, we introduced an Enhanced CPF Housing Grant of up to $80,000 to further help first-timer HDB flat applicants afford their own home. Last year, we introduced the Intra-Uterine Insemination (IUI) co-funding scheme and enhancing the Assisted Reproduction Technology (ART) co-funding scheme to help couples with difficulty conceiving. MOH fully subsidises all nationally recommended vaccinations and developmental screenings for Singaporean children at all Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS) General Practitioner clinics and polyclinics. We introduced the $3,000 Baby Support Grant (BSG) to help reassure couples to proceed with their parenthood plans in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. To date, more than 22,000 families have benefitted from the BSG. This year, we increased the maximum Government contribution to the Child Development Account for the second-born child from $6,000 to $9,000.”
“Mr Speaker, I beg to move, "That at its rising today, Parliament do stand adjourned to 11.30 am tomorrow." [(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)]”
“Mr Speaker, I beg to move, "That the debate be now adjourned". [(proc text) Resolved, "That the debate be now adjourned." – [Ms Indranee Rajah] (proc text)]”
“Mr Speaker, I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his erudite answer, which did not answer my question. So, I think we both agree. Both, indeed, the Workers' Party and we, agree we do want a race-neutral society. We want to raise a society where everybody can live happily together. It is a question of how do we get there. And one of the things that the People's Action Party Government has put in place is the EIP. The Workers' Party, in its manifesto, has said, abolish it. Mr Pritam Singh comes to Parliament today and says revisit, review underlying philosophy and a few other things. I just want to know, today, is the Workers' Party saying we should remove the EIP? If you are saying that we should do that, say so. On the other hand, if you are saying, keep the EIP but let us improve it and ameliorate the impact on minorities, say so. Then, I think we know where we both stand and where we are in agreement.”
“Mr Speaker, may I seek your consent and the general assent of Members present to move that Question Time at this day's Sitting be exempted from the provisions of Standing Order No 22(1) so as to enable the Questions for Oral Answer to continue until the completion of Question No 16, including relevant supplementary questions.”
“Mdm Deputy Speaker, I beg to move, "That Parliament do now adjourn." [(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)] PROVIDING CHILD CAR SEATS IN TAXIS AND PRIVATE HIRE CARS 9.33 pm”
“Mdm Deputy Speaker, Members are looking hopeful but I am afraid that I am about to dash those hopes. It is going to be a long evening. So, I will be moving to exempt the business for today. It will be a long evening. [(proc text) Resolved, "That the proceedings on the business set down on the Order Paper for today be exempted at this day’s Sitting from the provisions of Standing Order No 2." – [Ms Indranee Rajah.] (proc text)]”
“Therefore, to provide some reassurance to these couples, we introduced the one-off $3,000 Baby Support Grant in October 2020 for Singaporean couples who have a child in these two years. This is in addition to the existing suite of support under our Marriage and Parenthood Package. We are also holding a series of conversations from April to September this year on "Building A Singapore That is Made For Families". These conversations will allow us to hear from Singaporeans, both men and women, directly and gain a deeper understanding of how they feel about marriage and parenthood and also whether and if so, how, sentiments may have changed following the pandemic. Marriage and parenthood are very personal decisions. The Government will work hard to listen to the concerns and priorities of young couples, and work with the community to build a Singapore that is Made for Families.”
“The National Population and Talent Division (NPTD) regularly conducts surveys and obtains feedback from Singaporeans to better understand their perspectives and aspirations towards marriage and parenthood. These help to ensure that our policies and initiatives continue to meet the evolving needs of Singaporeans. A National Marriage and Parenthood survey conducted in 2016 showed that over eight in 10 young Singaporeans intended to marry. However, many tended to adopt a "sequential mindset", only seeking to pursue marriage and parenthood after achieving other life goals, such as establishing their careers, achieving financial stability and even travelling. This may have resulted in later marriages and family formation, which could have also resulted in couples having fewer children over time. Our assessment is that parenthood aspirations remained strong even though some married respondents indicated that they might delay childbirth due to concerns such as financial cost, lack of good care-giving arrangements, and difficulties in managing work and family demands. The fieldwork for the 2021 Marriage and Parenthood survey is currently on-going. To examine the potential impact of the pandemic on Singaporeans’ parenthood plans, we commissioned a survey in June 2020 on about 2,100 married Singaporeans aged 21 to 45 years. Among those who were planning to have children prior to the pandemic, about three in 10 respondents indicated that they had changed their mind because of the pandemic. Most of them would delay having a child or another one, and quoted the uncertain health and economic situation as top reasons for delaying.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That Parliament do now adjourn." [(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)] Ensuring Patients' Interest in Healthcare 9.02 pm”
“Mr Speaker, may I seek your consent and the general assent of Members present to move that the proceedings on the item under discussion be exempted from the provisions of Standing Order 48(8) to remove the time limit in respect of the Deputy Prime Minister's speech.”
“During public consultations by the Ministry of Health on support for caregivers of seniors, caregivers have also indicated that FWAs were more sustainable than leave provisions in helping them meet their work and caregiving commitments. The Government, together with unions and employers, introduced a Tripartite Standard on Flexible Work Arrangements in 2017, and a Tripartite Standard on Unpaid Leave for Unexpected Care Needs in 2018, to establish good practices that all employers should implement to support their employees’ personal or caregiving responsibilities. As employers and employees become more accustomed to FWAs, the tripartite partners will look into ways to further entrench FWAs in our workplaces, to better support all employees, including working parents with caregiving responsibilities.”
“The Government has enhanced childcare leave provisions over the years to provide more support to working parents. In 2008, we increased Childcare Leave from two to six days per year for parents with children aged below seven years of age. In 2013, we introduced two days of Extended Childcare Leave per year for parents with children aged 7 to 12. Parents continue to receive their pay when they take childcare leave, with the Government reimbursing employers for three out of six days of Childcare Leave1 and all of the Extended Childcare Leave. Many factors affect the employability of working parents, and it would be challenging to isolate childcare leave as the only variable. It is especially challenging to prospectively assess the impact of future childcare leave enhancements on the employability of parents. Nonetheless, feedback we have received through consultations with the tripartite partners suggests that we need to be cautious about the potential impact of enhancing leave schemes. Employers have expressed concerns that more mandatory leave provisions will affect business costs and operations, and reduce the employability of those workers who are more likely to use these leave provisions. Therefore, we must carefully examine the impact on parents and employers, when considering whether to enhance legislated parental leave schemes. Beyond legislation, it is important for employers to provide a work environment that helps all employees to manage their work and family responsibilities. In the past year, 93% of employers have provided some form of flexible work arrangement (FWA). Working from home during the pandemic has helped workers meet both their work and family needs, and enabled more employers to recognise that FWAs are workable.”
“The last amendment really encapsulated the formula that we want to use, the principle, which is that, on the returns, we use 50% for now, 50% for later. So, I cannot say whether 50 or 100 years from now, we change that. But we should not do is just every year or every two years, when something looks like the the scenario will need a bit more expenditure, we just change the framework so easily. The framework took a long time to come to and was very carefully considered and thought through, tried and tested, many steps. And once we have a framework in place, you should not easily change it. But, and this is the real point, which I have mentioned, we know that there is an impact on lower income and middle income, which is why we have taken the steps that I mentioned earlier. The Member talks about how the buffer or the Assurance Package will last for five years and 10 years, but the impact will be longer than that. Do not forget we have also said that we will enhance the permanent GST Voucher Scheme when the GST rate is raised. This will provide a permanent cushion for lower and middle income households, even after the temporary support ends. And also, over five and 10 years, there is time for incomes to rise. So, it has been thought through very carefully, understanding that there is an impact on middle income and lower income, but we have taken the steps to ameliorate that, to buffer that, to make sure that they are okay. But this still brings me back to the point I started off with, which is that it is not correct to suggest that because, we have a certain amount of cash surpluses that we therefore, that our fiscal position is better than we have stated or that we do not need to raise GST.”
“Mr Speaker, again, I thank the Member for his supplementary question. In essence, what the Member is saying is this: he is saying that you have the NIRC framework, can we not re-look it? We all know that things are not set in stone always, but we also know that when it comes to a matter of public policy and when you have frameworks, especially frameworks for expenditure, you cannot just chop and change every other year. So, it would make instructive reading for Members and anybody who is interested in this, to actually go back to the time when we did set up the framework. This was dealt with in the speech by the Prime Minister when we did the amendments and it is a very instructive speech. Let me just read some parts of it. He said, "Parliament is considering an important Constitutional amendment to our reserves framework. The immediate issue before us is just a formula change. How much income can the Government draw from the past reserves? We are changing the formula. The new formula will allow us to spend somewhat more. But the deeper significance of this amendment is to establish a more sustainable and equitable basis for spending out of the investment returns. Sustainable and equitable, so that we have resources which can benefit both the present generation and future generations. While we spend for our needs, we also put aside a solid buffer for contingencies, for the proverbial rainy day. That is the deeper meaning. But the most fundamental significance of this amendment is that it reaffirms the importance of protecting our reserves...". In that speech, the Prime Minister takes us through the history of how originally it was just protecting the principal amount; then after that, we had the NII framework and we spent a 100% of that. Then, we went to 50%.”