Lawrence Wong
Singapore
“Sir, we will provide more information. I see the value of getting Ministries to put out more information, to share more about how their resources are being used and what outcomes they have achieved.”
“Sir, I agree fully with Mr Azhar that human capacity, human capital is critical. In fact, I would say the long-term potential of Singapore, how far we go really depends on us being able to maximise our human potential. That is key and that is why we have long invested in education. And it is not just about the investments.”
“Sir, we have been maintaining that commitment of 1% for some time now. I do not think it is about saying that we just have to do more and spend more. As many have highlighted, we want to ensure good outcomes from our R&D spending as well. So, we will continue if the outcomes are good.”
“This has never been the case. Temasek, when it started, was always very clear about its mandate from the very beginning – commercial, not doing national service, focused on commercial outcomes.”
“Sir, the MOF economists when they look at fiscal projections use Government's forecast of the economy, which is also published. We would typically use the mid-point of the range and then, of course, because these are in nominal terms, you have to factor for that. And the projections are done on those basis.”
“Sir, I was relieved that Mr Loh said he only has one question, but he asked the most difficult question. To answer the question, we will continue to monitor cost of living across all segments of society.”
The complete record
Every one of 3,205 lines we hold for Lawrence Wong, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 37 of 65.
“The Ministry of National Development will set aside $29 million to upgrade 10 private estates under the 10th batch of the Estate Upgrading Programme (EUP). In selecting estates for EUP, we consider the age and physical condition of the estate. We prioritise the estates with greater need for upgrading and with larger scope for improvement through the upgrading works. These tend to be older estates where there is room to upgrade their parks or playgrounds and to enhance barrier-free access, together with the covering of drains to create footpaths.”
“Our current plans are to keep Pulau Ubin a natural getaway for Singaporeans to enjoy. There are now about 130 people residing or working on the island. The National Parks Board (NParks) works closely with the Friends of Ubin Network, a group of diverse stakeholders, to ensure the well-being of the residents in Pulau Ubin. NParks has also set up a dedicated Community Liaison Team to address the needs of the community there. The team gathers feedback from the community and coordinates the sensitive improvement of facilities and services to meet household needs. For example, the team conducts safety inspections and house repairs, drainage and track improvements, provides rubbish disposal services and goes door-to-door to distribute potable water during droughts. The team also coordinates with agencies, community partners and the grassroots to provide resources and programmes for the welfare of Ubin's residents. Collectively, these efforts aim to preserve Ubin's cultural heritage and way of life.”
“Since 1996, the Fire Code has required the main doors of selected Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats, such as those which face fire escape routes, to be fire-rated. All flats built by HDB since then have been provided with fire-rated main doors, where required. For flats built prior to 1996, HDB had carried out a one-off door replacement exercise for those which needed fire-rated main doors to comply with the Fire Code, at no cost to residents. As the units with fire-rated doors have already enjoyed a free replacement of doors by HDB, HDB will not provide any further subsidy for the replacement of these doors during the Home Improvement Programme.”
“The Land Transport Authority (LTA), Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), Housing and Development Board (HDB) and other stakeholder agencies have drawn up a common set of Walking and Cycling Design Guidelines to help industry and Government agencies improve urban street design for commuters. The guidelines, which have been in place since 1 February 2019, describe the recommended design and width of covered linkways and their associated footpaths. Newer covered linkways generally conform to these recommended specifications. Older covered linkways built before these harmonised guidelines may not conform to these specifications. Where needed, and where there are no site constraints, the Municipal Services Office (MSO) works with the relevant agencies to consider the cost effectiveness of widening the covered linkway and its associated footpath. I thank Mr Lim Biow Chuan for his feedback, which helps us improve our shared living environment.”
“The Housing and Development Board (HDB) does not comprehensively track the figures of neighbourly disputes in HDB flats. In any case, it is not clear why there should be a link between the number of disputes happening in any year with the establishment of the Community Disputes Resolution Act. Whenever HDB receives a report of a neighbourly dispute, it will first encourage the neighbours to resolve their disagreements amicably between themselves or seek the assistance of grassroots and community leaders to provide informal mediation. If the dispute continues, HDB will suggest to the residents involved to seek voluntary mediation at the Community Mediation Centre, or to take the matter to the Community Disputes Resolution Tribunals (CDRT) as a last resort. In that sense, the CDRT is not meant to deter or reduce the number of disputes, but to provide a way to resolve long-standing neighbour issues.”
“Currently, first-timer families are given two ballot chances when the Housing and Development Board (HDB) shortlists flat applicants to book a flat. Those who have been unsuccessful in two attempts for Build-To-Order (BTO) flats in the non-mature estates will be given an additional ballot chance at their subsequent application for a BTO flat in the non-mature estates. As a result, in recent years, virtually all first-timer families have been successful within their first three tries for a BTO flat in the non-mature estates. We will continue to review and update our policies where necessary to ensure that new HDB flats remain accessible to all first-timer families.”
“The Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) was launched in 2001 to provide direct lift access to flats and enhance convenience for residents, especially the elderly and less mobile. At the start of the programme, there were more than 5,300 Housing and Development Board (HDB) blocks without 100% lift access. Over the years, HDB has adopted innovative technical solutions to provide such blocks with lift access. Through these efforts, the vast majority of the 5,300 blocks have since been able to benefit from LUP. Currently, there remain about 150 blocks where it is still not possible to implement LUP due to cost considerations, or existing technical constraints. We will continue to study if there are any cost-effective solutions to extend the LUP to these blocks. Meanwhile, Singaporeans who are in urgent need of direct lift access due to medical conditions or mobility reasons can approach HDB for housing and financing assistance. HDB will assess each request on a case-by-case basis to see how best to render help.”
“For all flats offered in Build-To-Order (BTO) exercises, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) shortlists applicants up to 300% of the flat supply. In both 2013 to 2015 and 2016 to 2018, about three in five applicants who were invited to book a flat in a BTO exercise proceeded to do so. Shortlisted flat applicants are invited to book a flat in sequence of their balloted queue positions. They may request HDB to cancel their applications at any time. Generally, applicants are more likely to drop out nearer their flat booking appointment, or during the appointment itself, when their preferred flats are no longer available. At that point, it would be too late to advance the appointments of subsequent applicants as we will not be able to give them sufficient notice. Shortlisted flat applicants may continue to apply for a flat in another sales exercise as long as they have yet to book a flat. This ensures that they will not miss out on applying for a flat in another sales launch, if there are flats they are interested in, even while waiting for their booking appointment from an earlier sales exercise.”
“We will continue to raise awareness of the regulations, as well as the penalties faced by those who breach them. Apart from property owners and tenants, action will be taken against other parties responsible for illegal subletting offences. For example, where estate agents are found to be complicit in such offences, the Council for Estate Agencies will take action, which could include revoking the registration of the agent or debarring them for a period of time. The Ministry of Manpower will also take enforcement action against errant employers who house foreign workers in poor living conditions. URA will continue to step up its investigation and enforcement efforts.”
“Subletting of private residential properties is only allowed for stays of at least three consecutive months. There is also an occupancy cap of six unrelated persons in each unit. In the past five years, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) investigated an average of about 600 cases involving suspected breaches of the minimum stay duration and an average of over a thousand cases of suspected breaches of the occupancy cap each year. In condominium developments, URA works closely with Management Corporations to raise awareness of the minimum stay duration and occupancy cap among homeowners and to identify units suspected to be in breach of the regulations. Where an offence is established, URA will take appropriate action against those responsible. These include not just direct perpetrators, but also landlords who fail to exercise the necessary due diligence to prevent infringements in their properties, even if the offence was carried out by the tenant. For marginal breaches of the regulations, URA may issue a composition fine of up to $5,000. Since May 2019, URA has issued 23 composition fines for illegal subletting offences. Recalcitrant and serious offenders, for example, those operating on a commercial scale, will be prosecuted in Court and face significantly heavier penalties upon conviction, such as fines of up to $200,000 or imprisonment of up to 12 months. Since the implementation of these measures, 18 individuals and companies have been prosecuted in Court for illegal subletting offences. Of these offenders, 11 have been convicted and sentenced to fines as high as $70,000. Another seven cases are currently before the Courts. Several of these cases were reported in the media.”
“Between 2014 and 2018, the mean and median mortgage service ratios (MSRs) of Housing and Development Board (HDB) housing loans disbursed at key collection were similar. These ratios have been stable at around 20% for new flat purchases and 25% for resale flat purchases. As flat buyers are required to dispose of any existing property after they collect the keys to their flat, they will be servicing an HDB housing loan for a single flat. The MSR cap of 30% of flat buyers' income is one of the criteria used to determine the maximum loan amount that flat buyers are eligible for when they apply for a housing loan to purchase an HDB flat or executive condominium. However, some flat buyers choose to shorten their loan tenure to minimise interest costs. For a small number of such flat buyers, around 3% of those who collected keys to their HDB flats in 2018, while their approved loan amount adheres to the MSR cap over the maximum applicable loan tenure, their mortgage instalment over the shortened loan tenure may exceed 30% of their monthly income.”
“The Lease Buyback Scheme (LBS) was enhanced in April 2015 to extend to 4-room flats and provide seniors with more choices in the length of lease to retain. Since then, seniors who took up the LBS received average proceeds of $177,000 per household, including the LBS cash bonus. The proportion of proceeds that they receive in their CPF Retirement Account (RA) and in cash depends on their CPF RA balances before they took up the LBS. In general, seniors who had higher CPF RA balances to begin with would get a higher proportion of their proceeds in cash. After taking up the LBS, most seniors have enough CPF RA savings to benefit from a lifelong income stream of about $1,000 per month on a household basis under CPF LIFE. Beyond that, most seniors also receive some of their LBS proceeds in cash, in addition to the cash bonus.”
“The Housing and Development Board (HDB) launched the open booking of flats on 11 June 2019. This allows home seekers to view details of flats on offer at the HDB InfoWEB every day, apply online on a first-come-first-served basis, and book a flat as early as the next working day. Response to the open booking of flats has been good. About half of the available flats were taken up before the open booking was temporarily suspended on 7 August 2019 to prepare for more flats to be offered. Online applications for the open booking of flats have resumed as of 25 September 2019, and HDB will continue to track the public response. Other than open booking, HDB also offers balance flats via the Sale of Balance Flats and Re-Offer of Balance Flats exercises. These exercises offer other advantages, such as priority allocation for specific target groups like first-timer families. HDB will continue to monitor public response to the various sales modes and refine the processes where necessary to better meet the needs of home seekers.”
“The Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) was launched in 2001 to provide direct lift access to flats and enhance convenience for residents, especially the elderly and the less mobile. At the start of the programme, there were more than 5,300 Housing and Development Board (HDB) blocks without 100% lift access. Over the years, HDB has adopted innovative technical solutions, such as lifts that do not have a machine room at the top of the shafts, and small capacity lifts, to help such blocks to have direct lift access. Through these efforts, the vast majority of the 5,300 blocks are now able to benefit from LUP. There now remain about 150 blocks where it is still not possible to implement LUP due to high cost, or existing technical or site constraints. With regard to the suggestion to create sky bridges to connect flats without direct lift access to the nearest lift, we will need to study this carefully. Such sky bridges will require extensive structural works, which are likely to be very expensive. Meanwhile, we continue to look for cost-effective technical solutions for flats without direct lift access. Residents who are in urgent need of direct lift access due to medical conditions or disability may approach HDB for assistance. HDB will look into the specific circumstances of each case and see how best to render help.”
“Trees, including their fruit, which are located on state land belong to the state. The National Parks Board (NParks) manages most of the trees on state land. Members of the public who wish to pluck fruits from trees or collect fruits that have dropped from trees on state land should approach NParks for permission. Those who pluck or collect fruit in a public park without permission can be fined up to $5,000 under the Parks and Trees Act. Those who do so in a nature reserve or a national park can be fined up to $50,000, and/or imprisoned for up to six months.”
“Eligible singles can purchase 2-room flexi Build-To-Order flats in the non-mature estates. Such flats come in two sizes, 36 square metres (sqm) and 45 sqm, and are integrated with other flat types in the same blocks. The smaller 36-sqm flat is cheaper and caters to singles who have more limited budgets or less space needs. In fact, after the generous Government discounts and subsidies, first-timer singles buying new flats, on average, use only about 20% of their monthly income for mortgage instalments. This means that they are generally able to service their mortgages from their Central Provident Fund contributions, with little or no cash outlay. So, the existing 2-room flexi units provide affordable housing options for singles and there may not be a need to make the flat sizes smaller.”
“The Housing and Development Board (HDB) currently has available about 8,000 rental units. Not all of these are meant for new rental applications. We have earlier announced that HDB will be embarking on redevelopment plans for many of the older rental blocks. So, the buffer of rental units is also meant to cater to existing tenants whose flats will be due for redevelopment in the coming years. Currently, there are about 200 households waiting to collect their keys to a public rental flat. Some of these households have already been invited for key collection, but chose to defer it, for instance, due to locational preferences. Because we now have sufficient rental units to meet demand, the time taken for an applicant to be assigned a public rental flat is about two months, especially if the applicant is not particular about location. Some waiting time is inevitable for HDB to assess the application and to identify available rental units that will fit the applicant's preferred location.”
“For some time now, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) has been taking a needs-based approach in assessing requests for public rental flats. HDB will evaluate each application holistically, taking into account factors, such as household income and whether the applicants have other housing options and family support. This approach is not new. The Ministry of National Development has stated this in Parliament previously and highlighted that HDB will assist those in need with a public rental flat even if their income exceeds $1,500. Over the last five years, HDB has allocated rental flats to about 720 applicants who exceeded the income guideline of $1,500. There is no available data on the number of applicants who were rejected on the basis that they had incomes above $1,500, as applicants are not rejected solely based on their household income.”
“The Government is committed to providing affordable public housing to help citizen households own their first home. To do this, the Housing and Development Board prices its new flats at significant discounts to the market. In particular, we ensure that the vast majority of first-timer families are able to buy new Build-To-Order (BTO) flats in non-mature estates and service their monthly mortgage instalments using their Central Provident Fund, with zero or minimal cash outlay. So, even if the market price were to move up, we will continue to keep BTO prices affordable in line with this commitment.”
“Nevertheless, I agree with the Member that language can play an important role in promoting inclusion in society and some of the terminologies do need to be updated. So, we will consider this at the next review of the Income Tax Act. Mr Speaker, I believe I have addressed the Member's concerns and questions, and I would like to assure all Members of this House that MOF will continue to review our tax regime and our schemes regularly to ensure their relevance and effectiveness. Mr Speaker, I beg to move. [(proc text) Question put, and agreed to. (proc text)] [(proc text) Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. (proc text)] [(proc text) The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. – [Mr Lawrence Wong.] (proc text)] [(proc text) Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. (proc text)]”
“Of course, besides BIPS, there are other existing schemes that provide more direct support for charities and IPCs. For example, under the Bicentennial Community Fund, the Government provides up to $400,000 in matching grants for donations made to each IPC this year. The Voluntary Welfare Organisations (VWOs)-Charities Capability Fund supports charities in areas, such as governance and the adoption of technology to enhance operational efficiency. Government agencies overseeing this sector will continue to review the various schemes that we have, be it on the tax side or through grants, and find ways to continue to encourage and promote a more giving society. Ms Anthea Ong also suggested having tax relief for investors of social enterprises. Besides grants and tax incentives, she highlighted the role of impact investors and she suggested having tax reliefs for such investors to encourage the growth of social enterprises. As Ms Anthea Ong highlighted, we are currently helping social enterprises through raiSE, and the Minister for Social and Family Development had elaborated on this when he responded to a question in Parliament last month on the support provided to help social enterprises to grow. We will likewise study Ms Anthea Ong's suggestion on this particular area and see how we can do more to encourage the growth of our social enterprise sector in Singapore. Finally, I would like to thank Ms Anthea Ong for her comments on the definitions of terminologies used in the Act. I would like to first assure her that we are in full compliance with CRPD, and if Members look at the terminologies and definitions used in our Acts, there is internal consistency across all our various Acts. We have taken legal advice on this, and there is no doubt about that matter.”
“Mr Speaker, I thank Ms Anthea Ong for her support of the Bill and let me take this opportunity to address some of the points that she had raised. First, I will touch on BIPS. As Ms Anthea Ong mentioned, this is a relatively new scheme introduced in Budget 2016 to encourage businesses to support their employees to volunteer. Since then, the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth and the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) have been exploring ways to refine the scheme and to make the administrative processes more convenient and seamless for both businesses and IPCs. Among the enhancements made to BIPS, we will, as Ms Anthea Ong highlighted, provide an option for businesses to claim tax deductions on wages based on a fixed manhour rate. So, this will address the issues that the businesses and IPCs have been raising about administrative burden and confidentiality concerns. The fixed manhour rates will be differentiated with a higher rate for skill-based volunteerism. This will also serve to encourage businesses to tap on the expertise of their employees and their services to better support the needs of IPCs. To further simplify the administrative process, we will be introducing a "safe harbour" for related expenses, such that IPCs need not verify supporting documentation for related expenses that make up less than 5% of the total qualifying expenditure. We hope these enhancements will reduce the administrative burden on both our IPCs and businesses who are part of the scheme. Ms Anthea Ong also offered other suggestions for BIPS, including having food donations recognised as part of the scheme. We will take all these suggestions into consideration as we continue to improve and finetune this scheme.”
“Importers are required to have the necessary health certificates and import permits to bring birds into Singapore. The National Parks Board (NParks) works closely with Singapore Customs, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, as well as local and international partners to carry out checks at Singapore's borders to combat bird smuggling. Under the Animals and Birds Act (ABA), those found guilty of smuggling animals may be fined up to $10,000 and/or face imprisonment of up to one year. The penalties are higher for offences involving endangered species protected under the Endangered Species (Import and Export) Act (ESA). In addition, smugglers found guilty of animal cruelty may be fined up to $15,000 and/or face imprisonment of up to 18 months for a first offence, with higher penalties for those who do so in the course of carrying on an animal-related business. NParks can also seize the vehicle used for smuggling. Pet shops are also required to maintain records of each bird that they have kept in their premises as part of NParks' pet shop licensing conditions. These records must include the source, import date, importer, date of reception and date of sale of the bird. NParks conducts periodic unannounced checks at pet shops to ensure that the numbers and species of birds in the shops match import records. Under ABA, shops found in breach of NParks' licensing conditions may be fined up to $5,000 and their licences may be suspended or revoked. Higher penalties may be imposed for offences involving endangered species protected under ESA. NParks will continue to review these requirements and penalties to ensure that they remain robust and effective.”
“The Government already provides significant subsidies to help Singaporeans purchase their first Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats. These include pricing new HDB flats at a generous discount to market and offering additional grants to first-timers. They also enjoy priority when they apply for new flats close to their parents. Beyond Build-To-Order (BTO) flats, first-timers can also opt for resale flats near their parents, where there are many more options to consider. They will then enjoy the relevant Central Provident Fund (CPF) housing grants, as well as the Proximity Housing Grant, which was recently enhanced in 2018. First-timer applicants with special needs will benefit from all of these measures. We will continue to review and update our housing schemes to ensure affordable and accessible housing for all Singaporeans, including those with special needs.”
“When the Lease Buyback Scheme (LBS) was first introduced in March 2009, Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat owners had to have an outstanding mortgage loan of no more than $5,000 to be eligible. Since February 2013, we have relaxed this requirement and allowed flat owners with outstanding mortgage loans of more than $5,000 to take up LBS, as long as the proceeds from the lease sale is sufficient to fully discharge the loan.”
“Mr Speaker, as I have said just now, the Reserves Protection Framework already allows the Government to use the Past Reserves for all land reclamation projects. That is already the case today. And that is the basis for which we operate currently.”
“The Housing and Development Board (HDB) is committed to helping Singaporeans, particularly first-timers and lower- to middle-income families, own a home. The income ceiling helps to ensure that housing subsidies are prioritised for those who need them most. At the current income ceiling of $12,000, about eight in 10 Singaporeans are able to buy a subsidised flat. Households earning up to $14,000 may buy an Executive Condominium (EC) unit from property developers. There is no income ceiling restriction for the purchase of a resale HDB flat on the open market. From 2016 to 2018, HDB turned down an average of about 360 applications per year for new flats and ECs due to the income ceilings. We will continue to review our public housing policies to ensure that they remain relevant.”
“In the past five years, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) investigated an average of about 600 suspected cases of illegal short-term accommodation (STA) per year. Where an offence was established, URA has taken appropriate action against the perpetrators. These offenders include both property owners and tenants. They come from a wide range of age groups and are mostly Singaporeans. URA has found that while some offenders are responsible for a large number of STA listings, they typically do not own those properties but instead rent from the owners and then sublet them illegally to short-term occupants. For such cases, property owners will also be held liable for the infringements occurring in their properties, even if the offending use was carried out by the tenant. For those renting out homes on a casual basis and caught for the first time, URA will impose a composition fine of up to $5,000. Since May 2019, URA has issued 14 composition fines. For recalcitrant offenders and those who undertake STA operations on a commercial basis, URA will prosecute them in Court and seek significantly higher penalties. To date, URA has charged 10 such individuals, comprising a mix of Singaporeans and foreigners on work passes. Four of them have been fined between $13,000 and $70,000 by the Court. The remaining six individuals together face a total of more than 80 charges, and their cases are currently before the Court. URA will continue to step up its investigations and enforcement efforts.”
“The Home Improvement Programme was recently extended to flats built between 1987 and 1997. Currently, about 40% of these flats are owned by Singapore Citizens who are the first owners.”
“The Housing and Development Board (HDB) takes a needs-based approach for households applying for rental flats. One thousand five hundred dollars is used as an indication of income, because first-timer households with this income are able to buy a new flat with the help of our generous housing grants, and we want to encourage them to own their own homes. But this income figure is a guideline, and not a hard cap. Households with income over $1,500 can still apply for rental flats. HDB will consider their individual circumstances to assess their housing budget and options. At the Committee of Supply earlier this year, the Ministry of National Development shared that from 2016 to 2018, 590 households with incomes above $1,500 were assisted with public rental housing. Since then, from January to July 2019, about 170 more households have been assisted. HDB will continue to review the Public Rental Scheme regularly to ensure that it meets the housing needs of Singaporeans who are not able to purchase their own homes.”
“The number of unsuccessful applicants for the 2019 Build-To-Order (BTO) exercises in February and May are not available as flat selections are still ongoing. For the two BTO exercises in August and November 2018, about 990 and 4,200 first-timer families respectively were unsuccessful in their attempt to apply for a flat. Demand for some of the BTO projects in November 2018 was particularly strong due to their good location and shorter waiting time. First-timer families who have been unsuccessful in two applications in non-mature estates will receive one additional ballot chance per subsequent application in non-mature estates. As a result, over the past two years, among the first-timer families who applied for a BTO flat in non-mature estates, all have been successful by their third attempt. The balloting process essentially selects a certain number of flat applicants based on the number of flats on offer and assigns them a queue number. The process is randomised but will take into account various factors, including the ethnic quotas for the various buyer groups, the applicants’ household status, and the priority schemes the applicants are eligible for. The balloting process is audited to ensure that it is fair to all applicants.”
“The occupancy cap for private residential properties was tightened from eight to six persons in 2017. Since then, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has detected and enforced against approximately 800 such infringements. The penalties for exceeding the occupancy cap are calibrated according to the severity of the offence. For example, for marginal breaches, URA may issue a composition fine of up to $5,000. For more serious cases, URA will seek stiffer penalties through prosecution. Any person found guilty can be fined up to $200,000 or face imprisonment of up to 12 months. In situations where property agents are involved in abetting the offence, URA and the Council for Estate Agencies will take action, which could include debarring the agent for a period of time. Similarly, the Ministry of Manpower will also take enforcement action against errant employers and foreign workers involved in such offences.”
“The private residential property market has largely been stable over the last five years. But there was a brief surge in property prices from the second half of 2017 to the first half of 2018 as market sentiments improved. Developers, both local and foreign, were bidding more aggressively for land. So, this bidding behavior was not limited to Chinese developers, who accounted for less than 10% of the private residential sites sold via the Government Land Sales programme and en bloc sales during this period. In terms of prices, the winning bids by Chinese developers were also comparable to those of other developers. In terms of construction quality, one objective measure is the Construction Quality Assessment System (CONQUAS) administered by the Building and Construction Authority. The average CONQUAS score for private residential projects has been increasing over the years and has remained high over the last five years. The average CONQUAS score for projects by Chinese developers is comparable to that of the national average. The Government will continue to monitor trends in the property market, and adjust our policies as necessary, to provide good quality homes, and maintain a stable and sustainable property market.”
“Since the May 2019 Build-To-Order (BTO) exercise, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) has reduced the balloting time for BTO flats from six weeks to three weeks. This means that three weeks after the sales exercise, applicants will be notified of their queue number. Thereafter, they will be invited to select a unit in sequence. It takes around four to six months for the flat selection to be completed. This is because HDB has to schedule individual appointments for every applicant and take the time to engage them and assist them in making their flat selections. HDB will continue to explore ways to streamline and expedite the selection process.”
“The qualifying age for the Lease Buyback Scheme (LBS) is set at the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Payout Eligibility Age of 65 to allow seniors to receive their monthly CPF payouts immediately after they take up the LBS. Nevertheless, the Housing and Development Board is prepared to and has exercised flexibility on the age requirement for those with long-term medical expenses. We thank the Member for his feedback and will take it into consideration as we continue to review our schemes.”
“The Housing and Development Board (HDB) only started tracking data on such cases from 2016 onwards. From 2016 to May 2019, HDB received about 2,600 public rental requests from parents with children who should have been able to provide housing for them. The common reason cited for their rental request was conflict with their children. About 560 requests were acceded to, based on the specific circumstances of each person. HDB does not track whether their children were living in HDB flats or private residential properties. We encourage rental applicants who face conflict with their children to first seek mediation assistance from a Family Service Centre. If they are still unable to reconcile, and if the children have no means to provide alternative housing for their parents, HDB will help such seniors with a public rental flat. Seniors whose children have the means to provide for them can also consider making an application for maintenance at the Tribunal for the Maintenance of Parents.”
“Mr Speaker, the existing accounting standards are already conservative, in the sense that they require the valuers to ensure reasonableness of the methodologies and to test for impairment. So, even in private equity, the initial cost of investment is used as book value but, subsequent to that, you can test for subsequent valuations because there will be other rounds of fund-raising, which allow you to have a market test of where the valuation of the underlying entity is. And if there is any potential impairment to the asset, the valuers are required to mark down and write down the asset value. These are established accounting standards for valuation of private equity, which as I have said, GIC and Temasek fully comply with.”
“Mr Speaker, as I said earlier, we have a separate fire safety unit in the Ministry of Home Affairs for a very specific purpose. They are the specialists in this area, not HDB. So, let us explore these requirements. I understand and appreciate the Members' concerns about fire safety. We are very concerned as well. But let us take dressing from what the fire safety standards are and we will make sure that HDB complies with that fully.”
“Mr Speaker, I think we have to stand guided by what SCDF's requirements are. They are the fire specialists and we will explore with them if, indeed, that is necessary. I do not think SCDF's requirements are just the bare minimum. They are very stringent where it comes to fire safety and they impose these very stringent requirements which HDB will comply with. So, whether or not there is a need for more than the existing requirements, certainly, HDB will explore with SCDF. And if there is a need to, we will comply.”
“Mr Speaker, all Housing and Development Board (HDB) rental flats are fitted with fire-rated entrance doors where required under the Fire Code. The purpose of fire-rated doors is to prevent the spread of fire and smoke from one flat to the other areas. So, if a flat faces a corridor where one side is open with good ventilation, fire-rated doors are not required under the Fire Code as smoke can disperse quickly from the corridor. So, the provision of fire-rated doors in rental flats by HDB is done in accordance with the Fire Code today. All HDB blocks also incorporate other fire safety features. For instance, common corridors and lift lobbies are designed to be naturally ventilated for quick smoke dispersal. Equipment like fire hose reels, rising mains and firefighting lobbies are also provided, where required by the Fire Code, to facilitate firefighting. In addition, HDB, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and the People's Association (PA) have been working together to provide free installation of Home Fire Alarm Devices (HFADs) for all public rental flats by the end of 2021. This will help to alert residents to fires early and enable them to put out the fire or evacuate to safety.”
“Since April 2014, new buildings that are frequented by families, such as transport hubs, sports complexes, community clubs and larger shopping malls of more than 10,000 square metres in gross floor area, are required to provide family-friendly facilities under the Building and Construction Authority's (BCA's) Code on Accessibility. Such facilities include lactation rooms and diaper changing stations. Existing buildings which undergo major retrofitting works also need to meet these requirements. To date, about 90 buildings have been newly developed or have undergone major retrofitting, and all have met the requirements. However, the actual number of buildings with family-friendly facilities is likely to be higher, as other building owners may have moved to provide such facilities on their own as part of their renovation works, for example, in malls. BCA does not track such buildings if they did not undergo major retrofitting works. From 2020, lactation rooms will also be required in more building types, including healthcare facilities. BCA provides funding support under the Accessibility Fund for private building owners who wish to retrofit pre-1990 buildings with family-friendly facilities. For each eligible development, the Fund supports up to 60% of the retrofitting cost, up to a cap of $300,000. In addition to funding, BCA also worked with the Ministry of Social and Family Development to introduce a voluntary certification scheme in 2018 – the Universal Design Mark for Family-Friendly Business – to recognise businesses that provide family-friendly facilities and services.”
“About 20,100 Singaporeans have booked a 2-room or 2-room flexi flat in the Housing and Development Board's sales exercises under the Single Singapore Citizen Scheme since its inception in July 2013. The proportions of male and female flat buyers are roughly equal. Amongst these flat buyers, about 440 subsequently registered a marriage in Singapore, of whom about 80% are male.”
“The Housing and Development Board's (HDB's) research collaborations with Evonik and V-key are still at an early stage. If the trials show that the technologies are viable, HDB will study how they can be incorporated into the design of new HDB blocks and potentially retrofitted in existing HDB blocks as well. Technical feasibility and cost effectiveness will be key considerations. In the meantime, HDB has implemented various measures to ensure a comfortable living environment in our towns and estates. Some examples include designing our HDB blocks to optimise natural ventilation, orienting HDB blocks to reduce heat gain and providing more greenery in HDB estates. We will continue to study how to mitigate the negative impact of climate change on our flats.”
“The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) encourages the construction industry to improve on workmanship quality through the Construction Quality Assessment System (CONQUAS) and Quality Mark (QM) schemes. CONQUAS assesses the structural works, architectural works and mechanical and electrical works of a new building project. QM assesses the workmanship quality of the internal architectural finishes of every dwelling unit to ensure consistent workmanship quality. Home buyers can use the CONQUAS and QM scores as a guide and benchmark for quality when they purchase a home. Beyond that, some home buyers also engage private sector firms to undertake home defect inspections. These home defect inspectors are not regulated or licensed by BCA. Our focus is to put in place tighter quality controls at the start of the building process. That is what the CONQUAS and QM schemes aim to achieve.”
“In Singapore, the Endangered Species (Import and Export) Act (ESA) governs trade in wildlife to meet our obligations under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Under ESA, wildlife traffickers could be fined up to $50,000 per specimen for the illegal import, export or re-export of CITES-regulated species up to a maximum fine of $500,000, and/or face imprisonment of up to two years. The National Parks Board will review these penalties as part of its continual efforts to ensure that our measures remain robust and effective.”
“Most disputes between neighbours can be resolved amicably with some help from grassroots leaders and community partners. The disputing parties can also seek formal mediation at the Community Mediation Centre to reach an amicable resolution. As a last resort, in intractable cases where parties are unable to resolve their disputes by voluntary mediation or other informal means, the aggrieved party can file a case with the Community Disputes Resolution Tribunal. The Housing and Development Board (HDB) will do its best to assist if the disputes involve any breach of common property rules, or if the disputes involve residents who are posing a danger to others. In such cases, HDB will raise the matter with the relevant Government agencies or the Town Council to enforce the rules. In cases which involve hoarding behaviour, the Ministry of National Development has also put in place an inter-agency taskforce, which includes HDB, to work with the community to minimise disamenities to neighbours.”
“The National Parks Board (NParks) has worked with the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) to increase the number of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in our parks and park connectors over the years. To date, 170 AEDs have been installed in our most frequented parks, including all nature reserves and regional parks, as well as park connectors with high visitorship. The AEDs are located at key locations in our parks, such as visitor centres, play areas, fitness corners and food and beverage outlets. This allows for a quicker response should a cardiac arrest emergency occur. Park visitors may find the AED nearest to their location via SCDF's myResponder mobile application. NParks is in the process of installing more AEDs across our parks, in consultation with SCDF.”
“In addition, through the iBuildSG Tripartite Committee, BCA is working with the institutes of higher learning to update their curricula to better equip undergraduates with the competencies to support industry transformation. As of March this year, about 40,000 persons have been trained in the transformation areas, and we are on track to meet our ITM target of 47,000 trained persons by 2020. Taken together, we have achieved a cumulative site productivity improvement of about 15%, and BCA aims to achieve our ITM target of 20% site productivity improvement by 2020 with the completion of more DfMA projects.”
“The Construction Industry Transformation Map (ITM) was launched in September 2017 to transform the construction industry into an advanced and integrated sector with widespread adoption of leading technologies. We are making good progress in the three key transformation areas, namely, (i) Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DfMA); (ii) Integrated Digital Delivery (IDD); and (iii) Green Buildings. DfMA moves traditional onsite work into a controlled factory environment offsite and facilitates designing upfront for ease of manufacturing and assembly to improve construction quality and productivity. The adoption rate for DfMA was about 22% in 2018. The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) is exploring additional measures to reach the targeted DfMA adoption rate of 40% by 2020. IDD leverages Building Information Modelling technology to integrate and reap time and cost savings across the entire building lifecycle. BCA launched the IDD Implementation Plan last year and has identified 26 IDD demonstration projects to date. We are aiming to meet the ITM target of having 40 to 60 IDD projects by 2020. For Green Buildings, we have greened close to 40% of our gross floor area in buildings and are aiming to meet the target of 80% by 2030. In September last year, BCA launched the Super Low Energy Programme to push for even greater energy efficiency in buildings. The programme was jointly developed with the industry and academia and will encourage buildings to achieve 60% energy efficiency improvements over 2005 levels. The construction ITM creates good jobs for Singaporeans in the transformation areas. Together with the industry, BCA offers funding support and training to upskill workers in the construction sector.”
“Mr Speaker, we try very hard to uphold the principle of owner responsibility. So, for the rental flats, as HDB is the owner, we will, therefore, take charge of maintenance for these units. For sold flats, owners have to bear responsibility. But as I said earlier, just because we uphold this principle does not mean that owners have to fend for themselves, because there are in place a range of different assistance schemes or different organisations that owners can turn to, including Town Councils and community organisations, and HDB will also do its part within this set-up to facilitate and help where possible.”