Sun Xueling
Singapore
“We are deploying electric vehicle (EV) chargers in tandem with growing demand, within the constraints of space and electricity. As EV technology is continuously improving, we are also mindful not to overbuild as chargers can become obsolete quickly.”
“I thank Member Dr Choo Pei Ling for raising feedback from her Tengah residents. Currently, two multi-storey car parks in Tengah have EV chargers, and LTA subsidiary, EV-Electric (EVe) Charging Pte Ltd, is in the process of deploying EV chargers in another eight multi-storey car parks in Tengah.”
“The Government targets to deploy 60,000 electric vehicle (EV) charging points by 2030, which comprise 40,000 in public car parks, and 20,000 in private premises. As of March 2026, there are 30,500 EV charging points deployed in Singapore. We are on track to achieving our 2030 target in tandem with the growing demand for EVs.”
“In 2025, about 30% of Build-To-Order (BTO) blocks were completed earlier than their estimated completion dates at the point of flat booking. On average, these blocks were completed about two months earlier.”
“Yes, thank you. We agree with Dr Neo that it is important to bring together the wider ecosystem and we will consult all stakeholders. The Ministry of Transport's immediate focus is to drive the usage of drones more extensively, especially by the public sector and this is because we already have many potential use cases.”
“I thank the Member for her question. Earlier, I mentioned in my reply that the HDB notifies buyers at three junctures. This is to give buyers adequate time to plan. And that is why it is at the one year before, six months before and three months before.”
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“HDB is testing a scanning technology which can see beyond the surface of the concrete, trace the root cause and make more timely repairs. I have seen the use of this technology and how it can help to resolve more complex water seepage cases. HDB is currently exploring how to scale up its use in a cost-effective manner. Beyond individual flats, we will continue to refresh the whole estate, through programmes such as Remaking Our Heartlands and the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme. For example, under Remaking Our Heartlands in Choa Chu Kang, the Teck Whye and Keat Hong Shopping Centres are getting a fresh revamp, so that residents do not have to travel into town, but can enjoy themselves at the nearby malls. Outside the town centres, there will be new pocket parks, playgrounds and linkways, down to simple improvements to the lighting and seating. Residents of private housing estates, including seniors, will not be left out. We are extending these upgrading efforts to selected private housing estates, under the Estate Upgrading Programme. Mr Speaker, Sir, may I be allowed to continue in Mandarin, please. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] As society ages, we have to make HDB flats and neighbourhoods more senior-friendly, to support seniors to age-in-place and remain active. We believe that our whole society benefits when seniors live joyful, healthy and active lives. The Government provides the Enhancement for Active Seniors programme for seniors which includes senior-friendly fixtures that allow seniors to move about safely within their homes. This includes grab bars and handrails, slip-resistant flooring, wall-mounted shower seats and widened bathroom entrances.”
“We will work with the food and retail industry to see how residents can be better served during the move-in period and the town's early years. At the National Day Rally this year, the Prime Minister had shared our vision for the new BTO estates in places like Kranji, Sembawang and Woodlands. They are to be well-connected to job centres in the northern region. This is an opportunity to apply this resident-centric planning approach and build a new generation of heartlands. Across Government agencies, we will plan and coordinate much more closely so that new residents enjoy greater convenience from the time they move in. We will continue to gather feedback from residents, grassroots leaders and community leaders, and adopt a resident-centric approach in planning, development and execution. Our commitment is not just to new homes. We are equally focused on rejuvenating our mature heartlands where many Singaporeans have lived for decades. We often hear residents asking what will happen to their flats and estates as the infrastructure, and they themselves, get older. I assure residents that we will continue to work with you and your Town Councils to keep your homes and neighbourhoods safe, liveable and well-maintained. Many residents of flats aged around 30 years have already benefited from programmes, such as the Home Improvement Programme (HIP), covering essentials like toilets, doors and spalling concrete. As flats age further, HIP II will offer a second round of upgrading when flats reach 60 years and above. Works will be more comprehensive, using updated technology. We will announce more details about HIP II next year, but I will share one example today. As buildings age, the problem of water seepage becomes more common and this damages concrete.”
“The committee has studied the experience of residents in new large-scale BTO estates, such as Punggol and Tengah. I will share more in the months to come, but today, I would like to give you a broad overview of the improvements that we are looking into, to prepare for other large-scale BTO projects we are building. The inter-agency committee is looking into a wide variety of issues, such as transport accessibility, construction disamenities and also, mobile signal strength. In the interest of time, I will highlight three areas that HDB is working on: sheltered linkways, childcare and food options. First, sheltered linkways. Residents desire shelter to connect them on their commute and journeys around the neighbourhood. For new estates, from the onset, we will see how we can connect our residents to more bus stops and shop clusters. This can potentially be implemented at the BTO construction stage, especially if there are cost savings. Next, on childcare. For our young parents, it is crucial to minimise the gap between the first residents moving in and the commencement of childcare services. We are refining our planning approach, so that the childcare centres are built earlier in the development of the estate and handed over to operators in a smoother and faster manner. Finally, when residents move into a new area, more often than not, food is the first thing that everyone looks out for. However, we know through experience that operators are hesitant to open their shops or stalls when footfall may be low in the initial period. Currently, we already provide a rent-free period to tide operators through this period. We are studying how to enhance such measures while studying alternatives for residents.”
“The quarter-on-quarter resale price index Resale Price Index growth for the last quarter at 0.9% is the lowest since the second quarter of 2020. There are signs to point towards continued moderation in resale prices. More BTO flats will reach their Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) from 2026 onwards. The number of BTO flats reaching MOP will increase from 8,000 flats this year to 13,500 in 2026, 15,000 in 2027 and 19,500 in 2028. The increase in the supply of resale flats will help to moderate resale prices. At the same time, the ramp-up in BTO supply that I spoke about earlier will also help to reduce demand in the resale market, as more buyers turn to BTO flats. Together, these trends of increased supply and reduced demand will help support a more balanced and sustainable resale market. To sum up this section of my speech, we will keep public housing affordable and accessible for buyers with diverse needs and budgets. The robust supply of public housing will enable us to expand access to more groups. Ramping up housing supply also means that we will be developing in new areas, such as Tengah in the West, and Kranji in the North. These areas present opportunities to design thoughtful and beautiful towns. We did this with "Punggol 21" since the 1990s, and we are doing this again with Tengah – our first large-scale smart and sustainable town. At the same time, we hear feedback from residents that amenities such as cooked food options and childcare centres were not available when they first moved in. Having been in Punggol for the past decade, I can understand how residents feel. To review how we can be more resident-centric in our planning for such large-scale BTO estates, we set up the inter-agency BTO Coordination Committee last year, which I now chair.”
“Because of this, nine in 10 first-time home buyers can pay their loan using their CPF with little or no cash outlay. This is a good gauge of their lived experience of affordability, as this captures how they can manage their mortgage and daily living expenses relative to their disposable income. I will now touch on the resale market. As we all know, resale prices are agreed between buyers and sellers, influenced by supply and demand. Behind every resale flat transaction, there is a willing buyer and a willing seller. Buyers pay a higher price compared to BTO flats, but they get the resale flat immediately and can choose their preferred flat attributes, like location and size. There will be resale flats with attractive attributes that allow them to command higher prices, such as being in Prime locations, on a high floor, facing a good view, near amenities and transport nodes. But there are also resale flats available at lower prices in many locations. A four-room resale flat with at least 40 years remaining on the lease can go for less than $700,000 in locations, like Tampines and Punggol; less than $600,000 in Sembawang and Yishun; and less than $550,000 in Jurong West and Woodlands. [Please refer to clarification later in the debate.] First-time buyers pay even less because they qualify for grants of up to $230,000. The resale market is cyclical. Before COVID-19, resale prices fell for six consecutive years. When prices rose in the COVID-19 years, we had to implement four rounds of cooling measures, such as reducing the Loan-to-Value limit for HDB housing loans and the wait-out periods for private property owners wishing to purchase HDB flats. We are now seeing moderation in resale price growth.”
“If they opted for a four-room flat in Prime areas in this particular July exercise, given the additional subsidies for Prime flats, the couple will still be able to afford such flats with up to $350 payable in cash per month. Their mortgage servicing ratio would increase to 27% but this is still below international benchmarks of 30%-35% for affordable housing. To add, as the couple only starts paying their loan when the flat is completed, their incomes will likely have increased in those three or four years when they are waiting for the flat, so their actual mortgage servicing ratio and monthly cash outlay would be even lower. Let us consider another couple with a lower combined income of $6,000 which places them in the lower-third of households by income. In the same July BTO exercise, three-room flats were going from $267,000 up to $389,000. This couple would be able to afford any three-room flat only using CPF, without any cash outlay. That gives them some buffer to cover their daily expenses and build up their finances. In fact, because of the additional grants they receive, this couple would also be able to afford the average standard four-room flat in this exercise without any cash outlay. I have taken the July launch as an example, as this is the nearest launch to date. The exact prices and locations will vary across launches but our commitment is to ensure a range of options to meet diverse budgets and diverse needs. We will also ensure that standard flats continue to form a significant portion of our annual supply to provide sufficient options for buyers with tighter budgets. And across flat types, BTOs will be priced well below comparable resale flats. On top of that, we provide further means-tested grants.”
“These include expanding access to two-room flexi BTO flats island-wide, increasing the housing grant for singles and giving priority to singles when they apply to live with or near their parents for mutual care and support. We understand that there is still unmet demand from some singles who wish to apply for a BTO flat before reaching the age of 35. To make further policy moves, we need policy space and a higher supply of BTO flats. We are continuing with a robust supply of public housing and when the right conditions are in place, we will be able to raise the income eligibility threshold for BTO flat buyers and lower the eligibility age for singles. Besides improving accessibility, we will also ensure that HDB flats remain affordable for Singaporeans. The Government will continue to price BTO flats so that they are affordable for buyers with different income levels. This includes first-time buyers who may also be eligible for additional housing grants. Unlike other countries where public housing is targeted at the lower-income, almost 80% of Singapore residents stay in HDB flats. We must, therefore, provide a range of BTO flats at different locations and price levels to cater to buyers with different incomes and aspirations. Let me share two examples using the recent July BTO exercise. Take a young couple earning around $5,000 monthly adding up to our median household income of $10,000. The average price for a standard four-room flat in a July exercise was around $460,000. With a 25-year HDB loan, the couple's mortgage servicing ratio would be 16%, meaning their monthly loan instalments would be fully covered by their CPF contributions. No need to pay cash.”
“In this term of Government, HDB will continue to build more, build faster and build better. We want to help more Singaporeans meet their housing aspirations. There will be a variety of public housing options in different locations to suit diverse income groups and family needs. We have exceeded our commitment of launching 100,000 new flats from 2021 to 2025. And from 2025 to 2027, we will launch 55,000 BTO flats, 10% more than the earlier commitment of 50,000. We will launch at least 4,500 flats with shorter waiting times this year, and over the next two years, we will launch about 4,000 annually, an increase of more than 20% compared to our earlier plans. We will also sustain a steady private housing supply. From 2025 to 2027, we plan to launch more than 25,000 private residential units through the Government Land Sales programme. New estates will be developed in more central locations, such as Newton and Pearl's Hill. As we build more, build faster and build better, there will be greater capacity to meet the aspirations of more Singaporeans. Mr Henry Kwek spoke for some of these groups, like young Singaporeans doing well at work and earning more but are afraid that they will bust the HDB income ceiling and end up not being eligible for a HDB flat. The current BTO income ceiling is $14,000. This was last revised in 2019. We recognise that incomes have gone up over the years. We will, therefore, review the income ceiling to keep pace with economic trends and ensure that the majority of Singaporean households remain eligible for HDB flats. Another group of Singaporeans who desire to own their HDB flats are singles who can only apply for a BTO flat after reaching the age of 35. In recent years, we have made significant moves to enhance singles' access to HDB flats.”
“As we develop these plans, we will not lose sight of our fundamental commitment to our people, that the Government will continue to provide affordable and accessible housing to our people. This was the founding ethos for HDB, which was established in 1960, five years before Singapore's Independence. This continues to be its mission today. Our home ownership policies give our citizens a stake in our nation, foster a sense of rootedness and a shared sense of identity. I will now speak about, one, how we will continue to meet the housing aspirations of Singaporeans through affordable and accessible housing; how we will plan major new estates so that new residents can move in with greater convenience and comfort; and three, how we will rejuvenate our homes and estates to make them safe, liveable and vibrant for residents of all ages. In the last term of Government, the pandemic impacted construction and led to delays in the completion of housing projects. Application rates for BTO flats were high, waiting times were longer and resale prices increased as more buyers turned to resale flats. Together with industry partners, the Government responded swiftly to the situation. We completed the flats delayed by COVID-19, ramped up supply of new flats, brought down waiting times and introduced multiple rounds of cooling measures to moderate the resale market. After COVID-19, there continues to be strong broad-based housing demand. Singaporeans want to start their own families with most young people getting married at about 30 years old and they want to have their own flats then. There are also singles who want to live independently, though near their family. There are also seniors who want to age-in-place or right-size their housing for retirement needs.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise in support of the Motion. Housing policies are often discussed in this House. It is a topic that is important to many. Homes are where our children grow up, develop a sense of self and identify a space that they call their own. Homes can be a source of pride and joy for young working adults – something that they worked hard for and something that they continue to build their dreams and aspirations on. For seniors, a home can be a sanctuary giving them peace of mind in their golden years. In land scarce Singapore, the Government takes active steps to ensure that there is housing to meet the different needs of our people. But there are also competing uses for land – to generate economic growth, for environment sustainability and sometimes for cultural and historical conservation. The Ministry of National Development (MND) takes its development and stewardship role over land use seriously and undertakes this in partnership with our people. In June this year, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) released the Draft Master Plan 2025. It was developed through URA's most extensive public engagement exercise to date with 200,000 people engaged. We laid out our urban planning vision for the next decade. We want to bring jobs closer to homes and strengthen three economic gateways in the north, east and west. We want to develop exciting and attractive neighbourhoods for both public and private housing, for example, in central locations, like Berlayar: regional job centres, like Woodlands; and sites closer to nature, like Kranji. We will also set aside more spaces for recreation with the development of new integrated developments, new parks and park connectors. Singapore will continue to be an exciting and endearing place to work, live and play.”
“I thank the Member for her supplementary questions and for also sharing her concerns for rental flat tenants staying in her area. She mentioned that in her rounds, she has observed that there were instances where there were jammed gates and windows, and also some paint peeling issues. I would like to share that in the rental agreement with HDB, our tenants are actually responsible for the maintenance and repair of their flats, as set out in the tenancy agreement. But that said, HDB often assists with repairs of functional defects, and this would include areas such as spalling concrete, ceiling leaks and cracks, water seepage, popping tiles. We can definitely look into the instances where she had mentioned about jammed doors and gates, because this would impede their functionality. When it comes to painting, however, this falls into the category of aesthetics in nature, and it could also be very manpower intensive. Because sometimes, the painting works are not just about the external walls or the gates, but sometimes it also involves interior painting as well. Where such situations arise, we will have to work with the tenant for the tenant to move out and for the belongings to be taken out, for us to undertake the full repainting works. In these instances, HDB will try to work with community partners to see how to help tenants during this process.”
“Pre-COVID-19, for occupied rental flats, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) visited these flats annually to identify those that require repairs or maintenance. This practice was however disrupted when COVID-19 safe management measures were imposed and HDB conducted physical inspections in response to tenants’ feedback instead. Post-COVID-19, HDB has been working to resume proactive inspection and maintenance but in a more efficient and sustainable way, such as by bundling and outsourcing inspection alongside other related works. Tenants can continue to alert HDB should they require repair or maintenance assistance and HDB will attend to these requests. We will share more next year about audits and maintenance works for HDB rental flats.”
“I thank the Member for his question. As I have shared, the feasibility studies are ongoing and where the studies confirm that the line is feasible, we expect to complete the line in phases from the 2040s.”
“While the works for the Cross Island Line are happening, in the meantime, we are looking to implement other measures to increase public transport capacity in the North East region. So, the Member has talked about buses. Indeed, since the launch of the Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has introduced five new peak hour bus services as alternative options to the NEL and has also enhanced the five existing peak hour bus services. In addition, the LTA has enhanced the travel smart journeys programme earlier this year to encourage commuters in the North East to shift their commutes to off peak periods, or to remode their journeys to eligible express bus services. Lastly, I would also like to mention that we will continue to make enhancements to the bus services under the programme, which I have shared, the Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme. This includes introducing more peak hour express bus services as alternative options for residents to complement busier Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) lines like the North East Line. And we will be sharing more details as we are progressively identifying and introducing these enhancements.”
“I thank the Member for his supplementary questions and I am very well aware that he has rolled over this question several times. I know he is very, very concerned for his Jalan Kayu residents and also, residents in the North East area. I will first say that rail projects, as we all know, are major public investments and they do require careful consideration of a variety of factors. This include current and future land use needs, and that is why we also need to look at engineering feasibility and also potential environmental impacts. We have to work with the relevant planning agencies to assess the demand and the implementation timeline of the project so as to be able to support existing and future developments along the corridor, as well as sourcing for suitable sites for a train depot, which are large facilities. This is followed by detailed engineering studies to ascertain the engineering feasibility and the appropriate corridor and station locations to maximise the catchment while trying to minimise inconveniences and disruptions as much as possible, during the construction phase. We are already doing this as quickly as we can, but at the same time, are making sure that no stones are left unturned. We are working in close consultation with other land use agencies such as the Urban Redevelopment Authority, the Housing and Development Board, and JTC. On the Member's second question with regard to concerns that residents currently have on transport accessibility, we have shared earlier in the House that when the Cross Island Line Phase 1 and Punggol Extension open in the early 2030s, residents in the North and North East will have more options for travelling to many locations.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, feasibility studies for the Seletar Line are still ongoing, including on land use, engineering feasibility and environmental impact. We will provide further details when ready.”
“That is why we are taking, really, a step by step approach to make sure that not only do we have the technical specifications, the performance indicators in place, that also our members of the public are socialised to the AVs. And that is why the roll-out is not as fast as some of us would like it to be, but we think that overall, this is safer and more acceptable to the public. So, after we do this pilot trial in deployment in Punggol, we are definitely thinking of rolling it out to more areas, and that is why I have shared about Tengah. And if there are other suggestions from other Members in this House as to what are the other areas that we can roll this out in, we are more than happy to take in that feedback.”
“I thank the Member for his supplementary questions. First and foremost, definitely, I think we are seeing quite extreme weather conditions happening all around the world and in Singapore. So, the AV technology and what we are deploying on our roads is as tested, able to manage adverse weather conditions. On the second question that he asked was on cybersecurity, if I am not wrong. So, the operators must implement robust security measures and protocols which are regularly reviewed to address evolving threats and to maintain system integrity. This is further guided by Technical Reference 68 (TR 68) in Singapore, Part Three, which sets out the cybersecurity principles and the best practices for AVs, covering areas, such as, secure communications, intrusion detection and resilience against remote access attacks. The Member's last question was on timeline. Because the use of AVs in the community is quite novel still, we are taking a more phased approach. So, for instance, for the pilots in Punggol, we are taking about one or two months to collect the data to conduct mapping with the use of the sensors, to collect the data to make sure that the AVs have all the data necessary. And the safety operators on board are also familiar with what to do, if there should be emergency situations. So, that is the first phase, always with a safety operator on board. The second stage we are inviting those who are interested to take the AVs to try out the technology. It will be definitely safe by then, because the AVs would have been running around the roads for some time conducting mapping. But apart from the technical performance indicators, what we are also doing through the pilot deployment is to socialise people to the idea of having the AVs on the road.”
“I thank the Member for the questions that he has raised. Firstly, indeed, we are working closely with our IHLs. I had mentioned in my reply earlier that we are already working with the Nanyang Technological University's CETRAN, which is a centre of excellence when it comes to AV testing. So, there are opportunities for us to work with IHLs when it comes to safety testing, as well as making sure that their curriculum looks into areas of AV technology to prepare them for when AV becomes more commonplace in our ecosystem. Secondly, when it comes to accessibility, indeed, we are looking at routes that are less well served by the public transport system, for a variety of reasons. They could be further away from the main transport nodes. Also, ridership could be lower. There could also be instances where they are not being served because we face difficulties in finding drivers for night rides, for instance. So, there will be particular operational hours which are deemed to be less popular with drivers and we see that there is an opportunity for us to use AVs in those circumstances. On his last question, we will take a look at AV technology. It is evolving rapidly and we would remain open and see how we could use AV technology in as broad a range of transport vehicles as possible.”
“Just very broadly, at this point in time, we see that there are potential new job roles in the ecosystem relevant to AV operators. These would be, for instance, in the areas of engineering and software development, depot operations, vehicle and fleet operations. There are also potential roles with the AV tech providers in the areas of software development, cyber security and compliance. And lastly, for enablers of the AV ecosystem, such as, in the areas of safety testing and accreditation, actuary or claims processing, as well as, cyber security and compliance. So, these are just very broadly some of the roles that we have identified, but this would be an evolving journey and we hope to do this together with our transport workers.”
“I thank the Member Ms Yeo Wan Ling for raising these questions. She has been a very, very active proponent for workers in the transport industry – in particular, after we have shared about our AV plans. First and foremost, safety is a key priority for MOT and LTA. And that is why we are taking a phased approach to deploy the use of AV services. Firstly, before AVs are allowed on public roads in Singapore. They are subject to LTA's AV assessment framework, which requires them to pass a closed-circuit test at the Centre of Excellence for Testing and Research of Autonomous Vehicles (CETRAN). Secondly, all AVs are required to undergo a preparatory phase with a safety operator on board at all times to map the routes to calibrate the sensors and fine-tune relevant artificial intelligence (AI) models. All shuttles are also monitored in real-time with performance data collected and analysed to ensure safe and reliable operations. Apart from that, when we first identified the routes for trial in Punggol, we have taken care to identify what we call as "PUDOs", pick up and drop-off points, where there is adequate safety distance for onboarding as well as disembarking of commuters. At the same time, we are looking forward to having a bigger and engagement, a more widespread engagement with residents in Punggol, in particular those who go to the preschools, the schools as well as Active Ageing Centres to sensitise them to the use of the AVs on the roads. On her second question, when it comes to jobs, I had shared in my main reply that the Government will work actively with the unions to identify new job roles and to also put in place training and reskilling programmes early.”
“That said, we recognise their anxiety. The Government and AV operators will roll out training and reskilling programmes to help drivers to take on opportunities in the AV sector, or to move into other sectors if they prefer. We will put these programmes in place early to provide drivers with options and time to go for reskilling.”
“Autonomous vehicles (AVs) can enhance connectivity and create good jobs for Singaporeans. AVs will add to our public transport network without running up against fundamental manpower constraints. We will start by deploying autonomous shuttles to operate scheduled, fixed-route services within our towns. These shuttle services can directly connect residents to key transport nodes and amenities such as the market and polyclinic. There are three pilot routes in Punggol. If successful, we intend to expand the service to other towns that are further away from the city, such as Tengah. Besides AV shuttles, we will be piloting AV buses as public buses, starting with SBST bus services 400 and 191, which serve Marina Bay and one-north respectively. The Ministry of Transport (MOT) and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) have put in place safeguards to ensure safe AV deployment in the regulatory sandbox as provided for in the Road Traffic Act. Every AV must pass a safety assessment before it is authorised to operate on public roads. The vehicle must be able to respond safely to the behaviour of other road users and adhere to traffic rules. For a start, a safety operator will be on board the AV at all times. All AVs deployed on roads must have third-party liability insurance, covering death, bodily injury and property damage. Third parties would be compensated in the event of accidents, similar to conventional vehicles. The AV industry will bring new job opportunities for Singaporeans, including for our transport workers. There will be roles such as safety operators, remote operators, engineers and technicians. As the supply of AV vehicles will be limited at the start, there will be no displacement effect for our taxi and private-hire vehicle drivers in the short term.”
“Mr Speaker, if I may have your permission to take Question Nos 6 to 9 in today’s Order Paper together?”
“I thank the Member for the suggestion. Indeed, I have mentioned that we are monitoring the situation and by that I mean that we will have to look at the data that is available. Some of the data might not be very clean, in particular, because some of the disclosure of the data is disclosed to IRAS, and then the Urban Redevelopment Authority pulls the data from IRAS, and then, we post it on Real Estate Information System (REALIS), which is URA-maintained. So, we do have data that we can look at. After we look at that data, where we know that there are imperfections in the market, where possible, we will look at how to potentially intervene. But I would just caution that we might not want to overstep the boundaries, because fundamentally there is a commercial transaction between the master tenant and the sublet tenant. They both have their business considerations. So, while we maintain an open stance that the HDB, while promoting greater transparency of data and we can potentially act, I would just like to caveat that we may not also want to overstep, because there are market forces at play. We have to let business owners, whether or not it is the landlord or the sublet tenant, make their decisions based on what they deem is relevant and suitable for their business considerations. 1.03 pm”
“But if we are looking at selectively acquiring shops around that sold shop, which is charging a very high rental, leading to high product prices and so on and so forth, that is something that we can consider, but we will have to look at the overall supply of shops in the market, and what are the products and services they are offering.”
“I thank the Member for his question. I will come back to the Member as to whether or not we have selectively acquired any HDB-sold shops before. I do not think we have done so, but let me come back to you on that point, because I have mentioned that this is not our current policy. [Please refer to "Clarification by Senior Minister of State for National Development", Official Report, 14 October 2025, Vol 96, Issue 7, Clarification section.] And if we should look into it, it would be based on what I have shared with the Member Mr Henry Kwek earlier, who had asked a similar question, we would have to look at the overall supply of shops in the area. We have to decide whether or not these are essential services that we are concerned about. We have to determine if the market forces at play are not at the right balance, where residents are being adequately cared for. And it is only where all these conditions are met that we will consider selectively acquiring shops. I will just like to share where the difficulty level is. You must understand that for the specific situations that Members are most concerned about, those sold shops were probably sold at a high market price, in the first place, to begin with. So, what Members seem to be suggesting is to ask HDB to acquire that already highly priced sold shop. That is one possibility. Another possibility is to selectively acquire shops around it to increase supply. These are two different scenarios. If we are to look at acquiring the sold shop, which is already transacted at a high price, I do not think that that is a good use of taxpayers' money.”
“Yes, I had mentioned in my main reply that for all new neighbourhood centres, we are applying PQM for our HDB rental shops.”
“I am sorry, I did not quite catch the second question, but I will respond to the first one first. As I mentioned, HDB and MOH embarked on our first PQM tender in May this year. This was awarded in August, so we are still looking at the experience of conducting these PQM tenders, and we are thinking what would be the appropriate steady-state model. But indeed, because medical services are essential to the community, I would say that it is more likely that we would be implementing PQM to more clinics rather than less. And for sure, new GP clinics in HDB estates will use the PQM approach. As for the Member's second question? I apologise.”
“I thank the Member for his supplementary question. I did mention in my main reply that we will look at the option of selectively acquiring privately-held HDB shops, if necessary, and definitely, one of the considerations would be whether or not the product and service is essential. But that said, I do want to also take a step back and make sure that we remember the larger picture, which is that the sold shops are privately owned. And the owners of these shops have obviously made their business calculations. And if I may refer Members to a recent Straits Times commentary by Prof Sing Tien Foo, who is a professor in the Department of Real Estate at the National University of Singapore, he did share that, ultimately, there is a limit as to how much private landlords can raise rents before losing their tenants. I think that we have to allow market forces to play out. There is demand and supply considerations. Landlords make their business decisions. Tenants make their business decisions, but I think that when it comes to essential services, specifically in the areas of food and medical service, we will take a more critical look at it, especially where we deem that the supply in an area is less than what would be optimal, then HDB would look into potentially, selectively, acquiring shops so that overall supply goes up and that there are more options for residents in that area.”
“I thank the Member for her two supplementary questions. I will handle the second question first. I have shared that HDB and MOH have started piloting the PQM tender for GP clinics. For the quality condition, where 70% of the points are awarded in this category, the following areas are considered. One is the care model, whether the clinic is offering multi-disciplinary care. The second area is the manpower quality, whether or not the assistants in the clinic have undergone training, whether the staff have undergone training. And thirdly, specifically on the operation side of the house, which is the operating hours. So, I hope that answers the Member's second question. On the issue of sublet rent, indeed, that is an area of concern. We have been hearing anecdotal feedback. Per my main reply, unfortunately, at this stage, we do not collect the data of the rents between the master tenant and the sublet rent, though there would be instances where the data is actually furnished to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS), because they have to pay stamp duties on rental leases. Moving forward, I have shared that for new neighbourhood centres, we are applying the PQM model. And apart from looking at the generic affordability within the quality condition, we might look at how there can be a better provisioning of information with regards to sublet rent as part of the quality metrics.”
“The difference is mainly due to the fact that these new leases are located in newer residential areas where the shop units are newer and the businesses may consider them to be more attractive. Until recently, we have been letting out most shop units for general practitioner (GP) clinics purely based on price. To improve quality outcomes and to lower the bidding pressure, HDB and the Ministry of Health (MOH) have started piloting PQM tenders for GP clinics since May this year, with 70% of points assigned to the quality of the operator. For the first PQM tender awarded to a GP clinic in Bartley Beacon, the awarded rent was $16.70 per square foot, which is lower than the average awarded bid of $35.50 per square foot for designated GP clinic tenders in new housing projects awarded in the last three years. On sublet rents, HDB currently does not collect these data, which are part of the contractual agreements between HDB tenants and their sub-tenants. We understand the concerns that sublet rents could increase more significantly than what HDB charges the main tenant. We will continue to monitor the situation and explore appropriate ways to provide more information to all stakeholders.”
“This coincided with a higher proportion of rental transactions involving smaller sized units, which tend to command higher per-square-foot rents. HDB ceased the sale of HDB shops in 1998 and now rents out shops to businesses directly. There are around 740 privately-owned HDB shops sold on 30-year leases, more than 80% of which have less than 10 years of lease remaining. These shops will progressively be returned to HDB and then tenanted out. The remaining of around 7,700 privately-held HDB shops were sold on 99-year leases and they still have more than 30 years on their lease remaining. HDB will continue to provide new shops in new public housing developments and we will also inject new retail supply to meet demand in existing estates when necessary, including the option of selectively acquiring privately-held HDB shops if needed. Overall, we will see an increase in the supply of HDB shops, a higher proportion of which will be directly rented out by the HDB. On the rents for HDB shops tended out for medical facilities, I will provide the average rent per square foot. This is because shop units of different sizes and the absolute rent quantum, therefore, does not provide a meaningful comparison. The average rent per square foot was $10.40 in 2020, $10 in 2021, $16.80 in 2022, $17.50 in 2023, $22.70 in 2024, and $28.50 in the first half of 2025. For vacated units in existing HDB blocks, which are typically in older estates, the average rent per square foot increased from $5.70 in 2020, to $11.40 in the first half of 2025. In comparison, the average rent per square foot is higher for new lettings in new Build-To-Order (BTO) developments, which increased from $12.30 in 2020, to $39.30 in the first half of 2025.”
“The Housing and Development Board (HDB) plans its towns and estates comprehensively to ensure that residents have convenient access to affordable goods and services. A key measure is to ensure a good supply of shops in every HDB estate and town, so that there is healthy competition. As of August 2025, there are around 15,500 HDB shops in Singapore. Of these, about 8,500 are sold and hence, privately owned, and about 7,000 are rented out by HDB. For shops rented out by HDB, there are various measures in place to keep rents stable. All shops are typically rented out by HDB for a period of three years. When the existing tenancy is due for renewal, the rent for the next tenancy period is assessed by professional valuers appointed by HDB, taking into account recent rents of comparable premises in the vicinity as well as prevailing market and local conditions. Under this approach, rents in 90% of HDB rental shops have not seen an increase in rents in the last five years. Over the last three years, average rents increased at a moderate pace of between 1.3% and 3.3% per year. For all new generation neighbourhood centres, new eating houses and new supermarkets, HDB applies the price quality method (PQM) tender with 60% of points assigned to the quality of the operator, which includes aspects such as good track record and community initiatives. Such tenders allow HDB to holistically evaluate both price and quality factors instead of simply awarding to the highest priced bid. As for HDB shops that are sold, their rents are determined by their respective owners, similar to any other private property. We are aware that per-square-foot rents for privately-owned HDB shops have seen a steep increase recently.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, may I have your permission to answer Question Nos 11, 12, 13 and 14 in today's Order Paper together?”
“Everyone has a part to play in building a society where families are strong and everyone feels safe. [(proc text) Question put, and agreed to. (proc text)] [(proc text) Resolved, "That Parliament do now adjourn." (proc text)] Adjourned accordingly at 6.31 pm.”
“Social workers, counsellors and psychologists now undergo more specialised training to strengthen their ability to deliver timely and effective psychosocial support and trauma interventions, including being sensitive to the diverse needs of survivors of domestic violence. I thank the Member for her suggestions to use technology to enhance the training for professionals and the support provided to survivors. We will review these suggestions. The Member has also highlighted the importance of a nationwide response and framework to end domestic violence. As she has shared, this is in the form of the Taskforce on Family Violence, which I co-chaired with Minister of State for Home Affairs Assoc Prof Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim. And within the MSF, we also have specialised Protective Service units, which are part of a larger Rehabilitation and Protection Group in the MSF. As for the suggestions on workplace initiatives and for better healthcare integration and support, this is something we will explore with the tripartite partners. The employers' greatest contribution is to support survivors to rebuild their lives, by giving them the opportunity of a job and to thrive in the workplace. Beyond that, I am a bit mindful that we should not make employers do things which the Government or the community is better equipped to do. To conclude, I would like to reiterate that the Government takes a strong stance against violence. But we cannot do this alone because of the hidden nature of domestic violence. Addressing domestic violence requires a whole-of-society approach, and I thank the Member for her speech, which not only highlights this important issue, but also emphasises how this is a shared responsibility. Domestic violence is not a private matter.”
“The Member highlighted the importance of other elements of support, such as immediate financial support and expediting purchase or rental of HDB property for survivors. I understand where she is coming from. Mr Speaker, Assoc Prof Razwana, I have worked with several of these survivors before. Their immediate need is to be referred to crisis shelters, who will work with survivors to address their safety concerns and to assist them in subsequently securing stable housing arrangements. I have also written letters to the Ministry of National Development before, to facilitate rental housing for these survivors, so I know that it can be done. And those who require urgent financial assistance may also tap on Interim Assistance, which provides immediate one-off financial assistance to individuals and families requiring urgent and temporary financial relief. Those who need longer term support for their basic needs can also be referred to the Social Service Offices for ComCare assistance. These efforts aim to empower survivors to stay safe and work towards financial independence, in line with what the Member has suggested. There is also support for perpetrators who cannot remain in their homes due to statutory orders. If they are unable to find alternate accommodation, they can seek assistance from transitional shelters. What is important also is our capabilities to better support domestic violence survivors. And over the years, the training of social workers to deliver support and services to the survivors has been enhanced.”
“We have also invested in public education to increase awareness of abuse through our "Break The Silence" campaign. We note the Member's feedback that home-based care for the elderly may increase the risk of social isolation or abuse due to caregiver stress, and her suggestion for home visitation services. Our Silver Generation Office currently reaches out to those aged 60 and above to identify needs and refer them to relevant support or services, such as Active Ageing Centres for befriending and buddying service. Where violence has taken place, 24-hour services are available to facilitate reporting and for survivors to receive immediate help: the National Anti-Violence and Sexual Harassment Helpline was enhanced in 2022 to include online reporting. The Domestic Violence Emergency Response Team (DVERT) was introduced in 2023, where social service professionals respond jointly with the Police in high-risk cases with immediate safety concerns. The Member suggested on-site issuance of Personal Protection Orders against perpetrators. The Women's Charter amendments, which were operationalised in January 2025, allow the issuance of Emergency Orders on site by DVERT officers, in high-risk cases to better protect the survivors. The Emergency Order may also include a Domestic Exclusion Order, a Stay Away Order or a No Contact Order imposed on the perpetrator. A breach of any of these orders is an arrestable offence. Our social service agencies are our key partners in the efforts to tackle domestic violence, and I would like to commend our Family Service Centres, Protection Specialist Centres and the Integrated Service for Individual and Family Protection Specialist Centre, for partnering us on this journey.”
“Second, the Penal Code was amended in 2019 to double the maximum penalties for certain offences when committed against vulnerable victims, including those in intimate or close relationships with the perpetrator. In line with the enhanced punishments under the Penal Code for offences against vulnerable persons and intimate partners, the penalties for offences under the Protection from Harassment Act (POHA) against vulnerable persons and intimate partners was doubled in 2019. Third, the POHA Protection Orders regime was strengthened by establishing a dedicated Protection from Harassment Court. Fourth, for those who cannot protect themselves from abuse because of a mental or physical infirmity, disability or incapacity, we have the Vulnerable Adults Act introduced in 2018. Fifth, underwriting all this is the Criminal Procedure Code, which is the main piece of legislation that provides the powers and procedures for enforcing our criminal laws to hold perpetrators to account. Complementing the legal framework, we have upstream and downstream efforts to tackle domestic violence. I appreciate the Member's call for the community to be engaged. And indeed, preventing and addressing violence is a whole of society effort. Examples of MSF's upstream efforts include: partnering Institutes of Higher Learning to drive awareness on respectful relationships amongst youths; partnering ethnic organisations and community agencies on domestic violence topics to foster community awareness; and running domestic violence awareness training workshops to equip the community with the knowledge to spot and safely intervene when they see potential cases of domestic violence in the community.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, my condolences to Assoc Prof Razwana on the death of her good friend and I thank her for making this important speech in Parliament. In 2024, MSF released our Domestic Violence Trends Report. This is an inaugural report. Singapore does not tolerate violence against persons. No one should experience violence, especially at the hands of a person whom they should love and trust. Our work to prevent and eradicate domestic violence is a continuous, intensive piece of work that we engage in together with our community and social service partners. Every day, we are thinking about how to better protect survivors and to hold perpetrators to account. Kindly allow me to share the framework we have in place in Singapore to tackle domestic violence. First and foremost, our legislative system. We have five key pieces of legislation in place to address domestic violence. First, for protection of family members, the Women's Charter was amended in 2023 to empower survivors, regardless of gender, to better protect themselves and their children; strengthen the Government's ability to intervene in family violence cases; and empower the Courts to make additional rehabilitative orders. Rehabilitative orders can be issued with a Personal Protection Order. This includes the counselling order, which can be mandated by the Courts and the counselling conducted by the social service agencies. This reflects the Ministry's approach to domestic violence, which emphasises the repairing of harm and the mending of relationships, and is aligned with the spirit of Restorative Justice.”
“I will take the first question from the Member, Ms Carrie Tan. So, the Home Caregiving Grant is given to the care recipient, but it can go to a caregiver account designated by the care recipient.”
“So, for example, like a little wrist guard, certain things like that and also the furniture – what can we do to make sure the environment is a conducive one for preschool educators and also making sure that they have a designated rest area so that they can have their lunch in peace, for instance. So, these are all the various measures we are putting in place to ensure that our preschool educators feel valued, respected and have some downtime for their rest. When it comes to the framework that the Member had talked about with regard to curriculum, I had talked about SPARK 2.0. At the same time, we also have the Nurturing Early Learners Framework and the Early Years Development Framework. So, all those frameworks are published to ensure that our pedagogical practices, together with the Code of Practice that we have rolled out, ensure that the overall quality standards of the preschool sector are open, transparent and our parents have confidence in the industry. 1.00 pm”
“At the same time, we are also ensuring that we take into account their feedback on their well-being. That is why we have designated Teachers Day, Children's Day as preschool holidays from 2024. We have also designated the six preschool closure days as Development Days, to allow the preschools protected time. We have also removed the mandatory requirement for childcare centres to operate on Saturdays. So, all that takes into account and puts in place measures to ensure that our early childhood educators have time off. At the same time, coming back to what was shared about the excessive administrative duties, we are also trying to roll out digitalisation initiatives. So, in 2021, ECDA had launched the Early Childhood Industry Digital Plan and also a Digitalisation Grant. To date, more than 60% of preschools have adopted these digital solutions, including the preschool management system, to help streamline educators' administrative tasks. It is a very long-winded answer, I am sorry. But a very last point I would like to add, is that apart from that, we want to make sure that the environment is a conducive one, the physical environment. So, what we also have is that we have worked with preschools to see how we can have ergonomic furniture for preschool educators, because I think some mothers around us would know, when you take care of young children, say, for example, infants, some of us have this stiff wrist syndrome. If you are only taking care of one child and you have the stiff wrist syndrome, imagine if you are an infant educarer and you are taking care of three infants.”
“I thank the Member for his follow-up questions. Maybe I will handle the second question first, because the Member has mentioned this several times already. So, first and foremost, ECDA undertakes several surveys to understand the manpower issues in the sector. So, one of the surveys is a manpower study in 2021 and there is a perception survey conducted in 2023, and in both surveys, the main concerns expressed by educators were poor work-life balance, excessive administrative duties and also dealing with demanding parents. So, I will touch on the last point first. I had shared in my main reply that we have put a focus on nurturing a positive preschool and parent partnership in ECDA's refreshed "Shape Our Tomorrow" campaign. This relationship between parents and teachers is not unique to the preschool sector. This was also something that MOE had talked about, the parent and school partnership. But beyond that, we do have to look at what we can do to address this poor work-life balance issue that has come up through the survey, something that the Member has also mentioned before, and also excessive administrative duties. So, first and foremost, to put into context, we have grown the early childhood educators manpower pool by a lot because we wanted to expand our capacity for more preschools. And I had earlier shared that, in particular, we are expanding it in places where it is Government-supported. So, in terms of our number of preschool educators, we had over 18,000 preschool educators in 2018. We have increased that to 25,000 this year. While we are doing that, we are also going out with reviews, basically, to salaries, because in order to attract educators to join, you must obviously have an attractive sector. So, the salary review is very important.”
“We have also been reducing full-day childcare fee caps for anchor operators and partner operators. In 2023, monthly fee caps were reduced by $40, with another $40 reduction in early 2025, and a further $30 reduction in 2026. Through these fee cap reduction measures, we will keep full-day childcare expenses affordable, comparable to primary school fees plus after-school care fees. To ensure families can afford preschool care and education and to help families in need, we will expand the use of CDA to allow parents to use their CDA to pay for preschool incidental fees at all preschools registered under the CDA scheme. For families that have children with special needs, we also have a series of support measures. For example, we introduced the Matched Retirement Savings Scheme, where parents can top-up money into the CPF account of their child with special needs, and the Government will match every dollar deposited, up to a lifetime cap of $20,000. Additionally, we have the Special Needs Trust Company scheme, where parents can top-up funds to the Special Needs Trust Company account of their special needs child, and the Government will provide a matching grant of up to $10,000. If the parents and caregivers are no longer around, SNTC will care for these special needs children according to the care plan. (In English): Mr Chairman, this SG60, as we look back at how far we have come, I hope that we are also excited of the road ahead. Together, we can do even more to create a Singapore where every child has a good start in life and where every family has the opportunity to thrive and to flourish. [Applause.]”
“In 2022, we unveiled Family Zone at Gardens by the Bay for all families to enjoy quality time together and celebrate key life milestones. This represents MSF's commitment, alongside our partners, to create shared spaces for families. This year, with the strong support from MSF's partners, we will be introducing new features to the Family Zone. Our children can learn shared family values through play at the new family playground. Children of different abilities can also come together and enjoy the inclusive play equipment. We will also launch the enhanced community garden, which can host visits and workshops for families. This garden will be tended to by volunteers, many of whom are seniors. Family Zone was made possible through our collaboration with partners from the people and private sector, namely, Gardens by the Bay, PropNex and the Community Chest (ComChest). We invite more corporate partners to come on board to offer meaningful experiences for families. Chairperson, if I may speak in Mandarin, please. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] The Government has been working hard through various policies and measures to help every Singaporean family grow. We know that young parents in Singapore are very concerned about the cost of raising a child. Therefore, we have been committed to providing more quality and affordable preschool centres. In 2019, we provided Government-supported preschool places for 50% of preschoolers, and by the end of 2025, we will be able to provide Government-supported preschool places for 80% of preschoolers, fulfilling our promise made at the National Day Rally 2019. We will continue our efforts, adding almost 40,000 more full-day preschool places from 2025 to 2029, including around 6,000 infant care places.”
“The developed care plan will determine how much money is needed for their child and how that sum can be built up in the trust account, such as through cash, property, CPF savings and insurance payouts. After the caregivers pass on, SNTC will disburse the monies in the Trust account according to the care plan. MSF will subsidise SNTC's fees for Trust services to keep this affordable for caregivers. Let me come back to the example I shared earlier. So, for a family with a seven-year-old child diagnosed with autism, if the parents top up the SNTC trust account with $10,000, the Government will match this, bringing the total amount in the trust account up to $20,000. They can then use this sum to defray the insurance premium for a term plan of at least $100,000, in a sum assured in their name, and this builds up financial security for the child, as the sum assured will go into the trust account when the caregiver passes on. We hope that parents of persons with disabilities will feel more reassured that their child will be supported, even though they may no longer be around to do so themselves. My colleague, Senior Parliamentary Secretary Eric Chua, will share more about MSF's other moves to build an inclusive society. Lastly, beyond enhanced financial and caregiving support, we are celebrating families as a nation. Designating 2022 as the Year of Celebrating SG Families underscored the importance of our families, and National Family Week has also grown into the National Family Festival, which attracted more than 700,000 participants in 2024. Ms Yeo Wan Ling asked about our plans to foster a family-friendly Singapore, and one way we have done so is by expanding family-oriented spaces.”
“Most parents worry about their children as they grow older, the children grow up. But for parents with children with special needs, that worry is even more acute because they worry about how their child will be able to live independently after they are gone. So, this time round, the Government will be embarking on two initiatives to help parents with children with special needs. As the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) had announced, the Matched Retirement Savings Scheme will be expanded to persons with disabilities of all ages to help them build up sufficient retirement savings. The Government will match every dollar of Central Provident Fund (CPF) top-ups received by eligible persons with disabilities, up to an annual cap of $2,000 and a lifetime limit of $20,000. This increases their retirement savings and monthly payouts. Let me give you an example. If a parent of a seven-year-old child diagnosed with autism makes a cash top-up of $2,000 annually for 10 years, their child will see an increase in CPF retirement savings of at least $320,000 when he is 65 years old. This will allow the child to receive an increase of $1,700 in monthly payouts. MSF will also enable more families of persons with disabilities to plan early for the financial security of their loved ones. The Special Needs Trust Company (SNTC) works with parents of children with disabilities to prepare a detailed care plan that sets out how their children will be cared for after they have passed on. As the Prime Minister announced in the Budget speech, we will provide a matching grant of up to $10,000 for top-ups by eligible caregivers to SNTC trust accounts.”
“CDA funds can be used at Baby Bonus Approved Institutions for specific expenses that directly benefit the child, such as preschool uniforms and field trips organised by preschools. We had sought feedback from parents on the CDA's approved uses to ensure it remains useful for them. Most parents feel that the existing coverage is sufficient, but some were keen on using the CDA for other preschool incidental costs which are currently not included, such as enrichment classes. Some families said that they tended to opt out of such optional programmes as they could not afford it and they were unable to tap on the CDA for such activities. We will thus be expanding the use of the CDA scheme to better meet families' needs. From May 2025, parents can use the CDA for all incidental costs at approved preschools registered under the CDA scheme. This would cover enrichment programmes provided by the preschools, such as speech, drama, robotics and coding classes. So, for many, the expansion of the CDA uses will provide more financial support for their preschoolers to fully tap on the learning opportunities offered by their preschools. Depending on the child's birth order, families who save up to the co-matching cap will be able to tap on Government funding of between $9,000 and $20,000 in their children's CDA. I would now like to touch on parents with children with special needs or persons with disabilities. In my work at the Ministry of Education (MOE), I have met several parents who have children with special needs, and even in my work at MSF, I have met with parents who have young children with special needs. Often times, they share their deepest worry, which is who is there to take care of their child after they are gone?”