Besides several questions pertaining to the issues hawkers face at the Social Enterprise Hawker Centres (SEHCs), Ministers are set to answer questions on the recent Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and the impending sale of Kopitiam to NTUC Enterprise, among other questions, when Parliament convenes on Monday (19 Nov).
Here are some of the questions filed for oral responses, according to the Order Paper of Parliament:
Questions for the Defence Minister, Ng Eng Hen, on the recent SAF training accidents
Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry: To ask the Minister for Defence in the wake of the recent SAF training accidents, whether there will be an SAF-wide review on training doctrines that will factor in the learning from the various incidents.
Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Defence in light of the recent fatal accident involving a national serviceman (a) how many serious vehicular incidents have there been over the past three years; (b) what have been the safety enhancements since the Shoalwater Bay Training Area incident in September 2017; and (c) what are the Ministry’s proposed plans since this latest incident.
Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Defence regarding the death of a national serviceman during training on 3 November 2018 (a) what was the cause of his death; (b) what is the status of the investigations; and (c) how can processes be improved to reduce the probability of something similar happening in the future.
Questions for Minister for the Trade and Industry, Chan Chun Sing, on the impending sale of Kopitiam to NTUC Enterprise
Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry in view of the impending takeover of Kopitiam by NTUC Enterprise (a) how will the Government ensure that cooked food prices remain low and affordable; and (b) whether this takeover violates the anti-competition rules.
Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) whether the proposed acquisition of the Kopitiam food operator chain by NTUC Enterprise will result in a substantial lessening of competition; and (b) whether the acquisition will be suspended pending the approval of the Competition Commission of Singapore, so as to avoid a repeat of the situation with Grab’s acquisition of Uber’s South East Asian operations where its impact on ride-hailing platform services in Singapore could not be reversed.
Other questions for the Minister for the Trade and Industry, Chan Chun Sing
Ms Foo Mee Har: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) what criteria are used to guide Government funding support for start-ups; (b) how are the investments distributed across various sectors; and (c) how much is invested in deep-tech start-ups.
Miss Cheng Li Hui: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry with regard to the trade tensions between China and the United States (a) what are the implications of a lower economic growth forecast for 2019 and what can be done to mitigate it; (b) whether Singapore’s exports have decreased over the last few months; (c) which industries are the hardest hit and how can they cope with this difficult period; and (d) whether the plans laid out in the Industry Transformation Maps are affected and require calibration.
Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry with the coming into force of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) on 30 December 2018 (a) what will be its near and long-term importance on Singapore’s trade and GNP; (b) how can our companies take advantage of the CPTPP; and (c) how does it impact Enterprise Singapore’s and Economic Development Board’s strategies.
Questions for Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Prime Minister what measures are being taken to ensure that (i) the minimisation of the risk that SGX-listed companies experience a sudden deterioration in financial viability and (ii) SGXRegCo is sufficiently resourced to discharge its obligations.
Questions for Law and Home Affairs Minister, K Shanmugam
Mr Ang Wei Neng: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs for the past five years including the first eight months of this year (a) how many cases of arson relating to illegal money lending have been reported; (b) how many cases have been solved involving the arrest of the (i) culprits who set the fire and (ii) master mind behind the arson; and (c) whether the Ministry can consider increasing the punishment for crimes involving arson and illegal money lending.
Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs whether all private security officers working in public places can be treated as “public service workers” under the Protection from Harassment Act instead of limiting protection under the Act to only those working in specified places such as public healthcare institutions, educational institutions, bus interchanges and railway premises.
To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether cleaners and waste collectors can be treated as “public service workers” under the Protection from Harassment Act; and (b) whether such a class of workers can be expanded to cover all cleaners and waste collectors working in places to which the public has access, as such individuals are performing services which are essential to the well-being of the public or the proper functioning of Singapore and are vulnerable to harassment and abuse in the course of their work.
Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is the number of outlets found selling liquor beyond the specified trading hours and outside of the licensed premises within the Liquor Control Zone in Little India since 1 April 2015; (b) what actions have been taken against these outlets and the persons-in-charge; and (c) what plans does the Ministry have to curb such violations.
Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs since 2014, what actions have been taken by the Police in relation to complaints regarding illegal moneylenders advertising for loans via SMS messages or other forms of electronic communication.
Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs whether there is a need to regulate the sale and use of spy or hidden cameras so as to reduce cases involving the outrage of modesty and violation of privacy.
Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Minister for Law (a) what is the current number of Singaporeans aged 65 and above who have remained in bankruptcy beyond five years; (b) what is the number of such Singaporeans who have made bankrupt by Government agencies; and (c) what are these agencies.
Mr Sitoh Yih Pin: To ask the Minister for Law (a) what is the number of foreign domestic workers who have procured loans from licensed moneylenders in 2017 and 2018; (b) what are the liabilities for employers of foreign domestic workers who default on repayment of such loans; and (c) whether the Ministry has any plans to place any restrictions on foreign domestic workers procuring such loans.
Questions for the Health Minister, Gan Kim Yong
Mr Yee Chia Hsing: To ask the Minister for Health what is the estimated percentage of the population that is deemed deficient in Vitamin D and whether there are measures to increase awareness of the risks associated with Vitamin D deficiency.
Prof Fatimah Lateef: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether the Ministry has overarching policies, guidelines and oversight for handling sensitive health data and records of patients in both the public and private healthcare sectors; and (b) if so, whether there are audits and checks scheduled and conducted that are over and above that which individual institutions may have.
To ask the Minister for Health with our three medical schools now fully established and stabilised (a) how is Singapore meeting our needs for healthcare professionals; and (b) how is our population-to-doctor ratio doing compared to the last five years.
Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Health (a) when a mentally distressed patient requiring continued medication and supervision is discharged, whether there is a follow up system to ensure that the patient will continue with the prescribed treatment; and (b) how does the Ministry follow up on such cases where there is no caregiver who is able to manage the patient adequately to ensure the necessary supervision and help.
To ask the Minister for Health what is being done by our hospitals to reduce the probability of patients catching an infection at the hospital while being treated for other medical conditions.
Dr Chia Shi-Lu: To ask the Minister for Health with regard to the health supplements dispensed by our public hospitals and polyclinics such as folic acid and iron supplements for pregnant patients (a) in each of the last three years, what have been (i) the amounts spent by patients and (ii) the amounts of subsidy paid by the Government; and (b) how do our medical institutions ensure that these products meet the prescribed levels of supplement required by the patients.
Ms Anthea Ong: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what is the status of the Community Mental Health Master Plan launched in 2017; (b) with the need for upstream prevention to promote mental well being, whether research has been done on the effectiveness of mental health education in countries with mandatory mental health literacy programmes in schools; and (c) whether there is a plan to study the impact of mental health on skills, productivity and innovation.
Mr Seah Kian Peng: To ask the Minister for Health what is the extent of doctors over-servicing patients and what measures are in place to address this.
To ask the Minister for Health what are the causes of healthcare inflation which has seen double digit growth over the past 10 years, far outstripping normal inflation.
Ms Irene Quay Siew Ching: To ask the Minister for Health with regard to children with chronic conditions who are refused health insurance and are not eligible for Medifund due to income criteria, what recourse do these children have should they come down with other chronic diseases unrelated to their existing illness and which requires financial aid.
To ask the Minister for Health what are the key performance indicators and the percentage of these indicators that have been met under the $62.5 million pilot to scale up hospitals’ adoption of smart technologies as part of the Smart Nursing Ward initiative under the Healthcare Industry Transformation Map.
Dr Lim Wee Kiak: To ask the Minister for Health (a) how many children below 18 years of age are currently diagnosed with obesity-related illnesses; (b) whether there are adequate medical resources to cater to their healthcare needs; and (c) what is being done to prevent and reduce obesity among children.
Mr Leon Perera:Â To ask the Minister for Health (a) what regulatory guidelines or standards are applicable to the chiropractic industry; (b) whether customers of the industry will be able to find recourse from the Ministry when there are disputes; and (c) whether there is any ongoing process to bring the industry under further regulation such as to consider it as part of the Allied Health Professionals under the First Schedule of the Allied Health Professions Act.
Pritam Singh: To ask the Minister for Health whether the Ministry will reschedule or bring forward the specialist appointment dates of subsidised Singaporean patients arising from the Ministry’s decision to stop referral contracts for foreign patients in public hospitals.
Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong: To ask the Minister for Health (a) how many patients and how much revenue did the referral contracts for foreign patients bring in for the public hospitals during the life of this practice; and (b) whether this had compromised Singaporeans’ priority access to public healthcare resources.
Questions for the National Development Minister, Lawrence Wong
Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for National Development how is the land cost amount which is included in the sale price of a new HDB flat tabulated.
Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar: To ask the Minister for National Development whether a manual fire alarm can be installed at the lift lobby of every floor or at least at the ground floor lift lobby of each HDB block so as to allow residents to raise the alarm and notify other residents should any in-unit fire break out within the block, similar to what is provided in private residential or commercial buildings.
Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for National Development for Home Improvement Programme II, whether HDB will consider the use of (i) smart technology for toilet flushes and (ii) single-lever taps for wash basins to make it more user-friendly for the elderly. No. 85 19 NOVEMBER 2018 9
Mr Ong Teng Koon: To ask the Minister for National Development whether stipulating a minimum built-up area of 85 sqm for private properties will distort market prices.
Ms Foo Mee Har: To ask the Minister for National Development what effective strategies have been developed to deal with pigeon nuisance at HDB estates.
Dr Lily Neo: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) how many incidents of fires in HDB flats have there been in each of the last three years; and (b) what are the main causes of these fires.
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for National Development whether the Ministry will consider waiving the requirement for ex-spousal consent on who can list the children as occupiers in a HDB flat application if the ex-spouse has already purchased a private property or a HDB flat following the divorce.
Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for National Development what educational or other measures will be taken by HDB to address possible safety issues in relation to water heaters connected by three-pin plugs.
Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry: To ask the Minister for National Development whether the Additional CPF Housing Grant and Special CPF Housing Grant can be extended to first-time buyers of HDB flats in matured estates as these buyers may wish to live near to their parents within the 4km radius.
Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) how many and what proportion of HDB rental flats under the Public Rental Scheme re currently allocated to Singaporeans who have owned HDB flats previously; and (b) how does prior home ownership affect the priority of allocation of HDB rental flats compared with applicants who have not previously owned HDB flats.
Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Minister for National Development in the past 10 years, what has been the number of feedback received from residents each year with regard to noise generated by pump and lift fixtures due to design issues of HDB flats.
Questions for the Education Minister, Ong Ye Kung
Mr Zainal Sapari: To ask the Minister for Education (a) whether there are plans to review the current practice of ranking teachers for performance appraisal every year as an approach to cultivate a high performance workforce and identify low performers; (b) whether the benefits of performance ranking outweighs its challenges especially in terms having to ensure a ‘correct’ distribution of scores and creating a culture of individual competitiveness that is detrimental to team work and team dynamics; and (c) what alternatives has the Ministry considered for staff performance appraisals other than the current method.
Prof Fatimah Lateef: To ask the Minister for Education (a) whether there can be a more comprehensive and widespread incorporation of mental wellness and resilience training for students from primary and secondary schools; and (b) what are the roles of staff in the Psychology Division of the Ministry.
Mr Seah Kian Peng: To ask the Minister for Education whether it is desirable for schools to achieve an even spread of students from different socioeconomic status and, if so, what are some of the measures that have been introduced or are being contemplated.
Ms Irene Quay Siew Ching: To ask the Minister for Education what are the key performance indicators and the percentage of these indicators that have been met under the $19.91 million programme for the SkillsFuture FY17/18 study awards.
Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong: To ask the Minister for Education (a) what are the care resources available to students with special needs and mental health conditions in the polytechnics; and (b) whether there is enough continuity in support for students with such needs and conditions going from secondary schools to the polytechnics.
Ms Rahayu Mahzam: To ask the Minister for Education whether the interagency taskforce on Uplifting Pupils in Life and Inspiring Families will be looking at issues affecting older children other than pre-school children, and youths in their review of the support in place for students from disadvantaged families.
Questions for the Finance Minister, Heng Swee Keat
Mr Liang Eng Hwa: To ask the Minister for Finance (a) how many companies have been helped by the Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs) since the launch of the ITMs; (b) what are the delivered outcomes so far; and (c) how can the ITMs be scaled up to help more companies.
Ms Anthea Ong: To ask the Minister for Finance (a) how many employers have participated in the Business and Institutions of a Public Character Scheme and what is the total number of hours volunteered by employees based on rebates claimed to date; and (b) whether there is a plan for an “Individual and Institutions of a Public Character Scheme” to encourage more volunteerism by individuals beyond the tax rebate for donations.
Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Minister for Finance whether the Additional Buyer Stamp Duty remission can be extended to singles who have bought a second property and subsequently sold the first property within six months from their purchase of the second property.
Questions for the Foreign Affairs Minister, Vivian Balakrishnan
Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs (a) what is the Ministry’s view on the repatriation of the Rohingyas that has been announced to commence in mid-November 2018; and (b) whether, from the viewpoint of ASEAN, enough is being done to ensure that those who return will not face the same threats to their safety as when they first left.
To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs whether the Government will offer humanitarian relief to help alleviate the crisis and famine in Yemen.
Questions for the Manpower Minister, Josephine Teo
Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar: To ask the Minister for Manpower over the past five years (a) how many workers have lodged a complaint against their employers for overinflating their salaries where the actual amount they receive as salary is actually lower than that declared to the Ministry or stated on their pay slip; and (b) among those who complained, how many are (i) workers above the age of 60 years old (ii) blue collar workers (iii) PMEs and (iv) foreign workers respectively.
Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) what is being done to ensure that the new opportunities and job roles brought about by automation will be equally distributed across all affected workers; (b) whether there are plans for the Government to partner private companies to develop more training programmes to help affected industries make the transition; and (c) how many people have upskilled themselves in the past three years tapping on the Government schemes.
Mr Zainal Sapari: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) what is the number of companies that have tapped on the Lean Enterprise Development Scheme (LEDS) since it started; (b) how do these companies perform in terms of achieving the outcomes of becoming more manpower lean, having a stronger Singaporean core and a better quality workforce; (c) how are the outcomes measured and monitored to determine the success of the scheme; and (d) which industry or sector has been most impacted by LEDS.
Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Manpower with regard to the Managing Onsite Vehicular Safety (MOVeS) programme (a) how many companies have taken up the programme so far; (b) what are the main reasons for companies not embarking on the programme; and (c) what is the Ministry’s plan to increase the take-up rate.
Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Manpower what are the circumstances in which the CPF Board exercises its discretion to allow its members, who have turned 55 and do not have savings above their basic retirement sums in their Retirement Accounts, to complete the purchase of HDB flats using the monies in their Retirement Account and, in such situations, how much in percentage terms will be allowed to be withdrawn from the members’ CPF accounts.
Ms Foo Mee Har: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) how has the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) resulted in more desirable outcomes than the Minimum Wage Model; and (b) what changes are being considered for PWM to address the needs of low-wage workers.
Assoc Prof Walter Theseira: To ask the Minister for Manpower what measures are taken to protect the rights of the self-employed such as hawkers and private-hire drivers who are often required to provide minimum hours of work or fulfill other conditions of service when signing contracts for their trade; (b) under what conditions will such contracts give rise to an employment relationship under the Employment Act; and (c) whether the Ministry will provide guidance to the self-employed on structuring self-employment trade contracts to provide for their welfare and to avoid effecting an employment relationship.
Mr Darryl David: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) over the past three years, how many cases are there of domestic helpers who have defaulted on loans from licensed moneylenders; (b) whether the Ministry intends to implement any restrictions on domestic helpers taking such loans; (c) what are the consequences for such repeat defaulters; and (d) what are the consequences for their employers.
To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) over the past three years, how many domestic helpers have taken loans from unlicensed moneylenders; (b) what are the consequences for such domestic helpers; and (c) what recourse do the employers of these domestic helpers have should they be harassed by the unlicensed moneylenders.
Questions for the Minister for Social and Family Development, Desmond Lee
Dr Chia Shi-Lu: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development with regard to the Lasting Power of Attorney (a) whether the validity period of doctors’ letters certifying the condition of the patient is uniformly accepted by all banks, insurance companies and Government agencies; and (b) if not, whether the Ministry will consider standardising the validity period to reduce inconvenience and hardship for affected families.
Ms Anthea Ong: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what is the employment rate for differently-abled persons in the last three years; (b) whether there are statistics on which groups of differently-abled persons are the most affected by unemployment and why; and (c) given the diversity of our society, whether matters affecting differently-abled groups are reported on and considered before a Bill is passed and, if not, whether there is a need for a governmental body to do so.
Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development what is the take-up rate for adoption leave after the legislative changes introduced in July 2017 that allows for adoptive mothers to get 12 weeks of adoption leave.
Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development regarding youths residing in places of detention and juvenile rehabilitation centres established under the Children and Young Persons Act (a) how does the Government ensure that the conditions of detention or residence promote rehabilitation; (b) what oversight mechanism and grievance procedure exist to safeguard the welfare of the detained youths; and (c) whether past reviews of violent incidents in the Singapore Boys Home have identified any contributory factors for the occurrences.
Ms Rahayu Mahzam: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether there are structural gaps in the existing support structures for low-income and vulnerable families in Singapore and, if so, what are these gaps; and (b) what are the specific opportunities for the community to assist and augment the existing support structures to close these gaps.
Questions for Transport Minister, Khaw Boon Wan:
Mr Liang Eng Hwa: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) whether the Bus Services Reliability Framework (BSRF) which requires buses to adhere strictly to the time schedule has led to the behaviour of buses captains deliberately slowing or stopping at bus stops when they are ahead of schedule to avoid incurring penalties; (b) whether the framework can be fine-tuned to improve commuters’ experience and not unnecessarily prolonging the bus journeys; and (c) whether long-distance trunk services can be exempted from the BSRF.
Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) why has the Government decided to allow applications for licensed public personal mobility device (PMD)-sharing services from January 2019; and (b) whether the Government will consider delaying the introduction of such commercial shared public PMD services until the riding culture for PMDs has improved and incidences of unsafe and inconsiderate usage have subsided.
Mr Ong Teng Koon: To ask the Minister for Transport whether there are plans to implement express trains in new MRT lines.
Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Transport with regard to the trial on enhanced security screening at MRT stations (a) how will the Ministry minimise inconvenience and delays to commuters; and (b) how the preparedness of transport operators be further improved in the face of security threats.
Questions for the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Masagos Zulkifli
Ms Rahayu Mahzam: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) what is the circular economy framework in place for various waste-producing sectors in Singapore including those for packaging and electronic products; (b) whether the current legislation is sufficient to sustain a circular economy in the waste sector; and (c) if not, whether there are plans to introduce further legislation.
Mr Chong Kee Hiong: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources what are the assessed threats of rising sea levels to our reservoirs and coastal areas, particularly reclaimed land, and what are the measures to boost the protection for these areas.
Questions for the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, Grace Fu
Dr Lim Wee Kiak: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) in the past year, how many Singaporeans have enrolled in courses related to eSports; (b) what are the career prospects for those in the eSports industry; and (c) what is the Ministry doing to expand professional opportunities for youths who are interested in the eSports industry.
Here are some of the questions filed for written responses, according to the Order Paper of Parliament:
Questions for Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Prime Minister (a) how do Singapore’s regulations on e-money float compare to those of the major global financial centers; (b) what is the progress on the consultation on “user protection measures in electronic payments”; and (c) how will the Ministry protect consumer interests while ensuring Singapore’s competitiveness as an epayments processing hub.
Miss Cheng Li Hui: To ask the Prime Minister with regard to our total fertility rate (TFR) (a) whether it is a concern that the figure has fallen to 1.16 in 2017; (b) whether the Government’s pronatalist policies have been working; and (c) what further measures are necessary or are being considered by the Government to arrest the decline in TFR and to raise it in the long term.
Questions for the Transport Minister, Khaw Boon Wan
Mr Ang Hin Kee: To ask the Minister for Transport in view of the greater adoption of hybrid/electric and autonomous vehicles using automation technology (a) whether Singapore has enough skilled local car mechanics in the pipeline; (b) whether the Ministry will be mapping the skill requirements, job prospects, salary and career progression pathways to upskill our car mechanics; and (c) whether the major employers of car mechanics in Singapore have these initiatives in place.
To ask the Minister for Transport in light of a recent recall of cars over a fault that can increase crash risks (a) whether LTA conducts extra checks on the reliability of vehicles selected for use on the roads, especially for taxis and private hire vehicles; and (b) beyond emission standards, what other checks are conducted on vehicles used for public transport at the point of registration and subsequent use on the roads.
Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Minister for Transport whether LTA supervises the resurfacing of roads each time contractors have dug holes in the roads to install wires, cables and pipes and, if so, what is the reason for poor re-surfacing of the roads after the works are completed.
Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) what is the current total number of public carpark lots across all terminals of Changi Airport; (b) what is the projected total number of public carpark lots across all terminals after the opening of Jewel Changi Airport; and (c) what is the projected total number of public carpark lots across all terminals after the opening of Terminal 5.
Ms Rahayu Mahzam: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) whether he can provide an update on the plans for the development and opening of the Hume MRT station; and (b) what is the minimum size and density of the residential population before the station can be opened.
Questions for the Defence Minister, Ng Eng Hen
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Defence (a) what measures are being taken to reduce single-use plastics in National Day Parade (NDP) 2019; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider providing only reusable items with minimal packaging in the NDP 2019 fun pack.
Mr Terence Ho Wee San: To ask the Minister for Defence (a) in view of the recent training accidents, whether the SAF deems the current assistance and compensation as sufficient to the affected family; and (b) how will the armywide safety timeout on training ensure the prevention of such accidents from happening again.
Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for Defence (a) in the last three years, how many cases of Full-Time National Servicemen’s medical leave issued by private GPs have been revoked by SAF’s in-camp medical officers; (b) what are the main reasons for the revocations; and (c) what are the processes involved prior to the in-camp medical officer’s revocation of the medical leave.
Questions for Law and Home Affairs Minister, K Shanmugam
Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) in the past one year, how many accidents involving motorcycles, lorries and trailers have occurred on the Causeway; and (b) whether the Ministry is reviewing the need to introduce new measures to prevent traffic accidents at the Causeway.
Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs with regard to the recent island-wide operation against heavy vehicle drivers (a) what are the main violations for issuing the summonses; (b) what is the trend of heavy vehicle violations in the past five years; and (c) what is the Ministry’s plan to reduce these violations as heavy vehicles can potentially cause greater damage and loss of life on the roads.
Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs what is being done to reduce and prevent financial crimes targeting the elderly.
Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for Law (a) in the past 10 years, how many reports have been lodged by residents that their foreign domestic workers have borrowed from legal and illegal moneylenders respectively; (b) how many such of residents became the victims of harassment from loan sharks or legal money collectors respectively; and (c) whether there are plans to ban borrowings by foreign domestic workers from legal moneylenders.
Questions for the Health Minister, Gan Kim Yong
Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether the number of Hand Foot Mouth Disease infections are on the uptrend; and (b) whether current efforts to break their transmission need to be improved.
Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong: To ask the Minister for Health (a) to date, how many people have signed up as Dementia Friends through the Dementia Friends mobile app; and (b) whether the app should be used by concerned members of the wider public who are not specifically trained to help persons with dementia and their families.
Question for the Minister for Communications and Information, S. Iswaran
Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information whether IMDA will render its service to replace analogue television signal systems with the Digital TV Starter Kit at senior citizen corners located at HDB void decks.
Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information (a) whether the Digital TV Starter Kit (DSK) redemption programme can be extended to all households including those in private estates; and (b) whether the DSK redemption can be given to households who may have an existing cable TV subscription but who may terminate the subscription at a later stage.
Questions for the Finance Minister, Heng Swee Keat
Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Minister for Finance (a) whether the Government allows share ownership by senior management of Temasek Holdings and GIC, whether as direct ownership or using nominee accounts, in companies that the two sovereign wealth funds have invested in; and (b) how does the Government ensure that these senior management staff do not benefit from insider information.
Question for the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, Grace Fu
Ms Anthea Ong: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth whether there is a plan to institute a national volunteer registry that can provide big data for analysis and use across Ministries such as those relating to blood donors, probono legal aid lawyers, grassroots volunteers, police volunteers, and corporate volunteers, and which can also provide a personal volunteer portfolio/journey for citizens and residents.
Questions for the Minister for Trade and Industry, Chan Chun Sing
Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry with the enhancement of the China-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (a) what is the projected increase in the volume and type of trade between the two countries; (b) how is the Ministry helping Singapore companies to leverage on the new opportunities in China; and (c) which are the industries that will be of interest to Singapore companies looking to expand into Central and Western China.
Questions for the National Development Minister, Lawrence Wong
Mr Zainal Sapari: To ask the Minister for National Development whether the income of a foreign spouse who is married to a Singaporean is taken into consideration by HDB in deciding the quantum of housing loan or grant that the applicant would be eligible for.
Mr Sitoh Yih Pin: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what has been the number of sellers of residential properties who paid Seller Stamp Duty (SSD) year on year since SSD was implemented; (b) of these numbers, how many of them are Singaporeans who own only one residential property; and (c) whether the Ministry will consider exempting Singaporeans who own only one residential property from SSD.
Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what is the current take-up rate for the Home Protection Scheme (HPS); (b) whether it can be made compulsory for all HDB home owners with outstanding housing loans to take up HPS regardless of whether they are using their CPF to service the loans; and (c) what is the Ministry doing to create more awareness about the importance of HPS and similar schemes.
To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what is the status of the backlog of unsuccessful applications for two-room BTO flats; (b) how many of these applicants are singles; (c) how many more tworoom BTO flats will be available in the next three years; and (d) how does the Ministry plan to increase the supply of two-room BTO flats.
Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for National Development whether the Ministry can review the situation facing a number of residents in the landed Eastwood estate off Bedok Road who have seen cracks and structural issues appearing at around the same time, so as to provide them with a single point of contact with a lead agency to assess the issues and advise them, given that the problems could have been caused by works done by different agencies in the vicinity such as PUB’s canal-widening project and LTA’s MRT tunnelling.
Questions for the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Masagos Zulkifli
Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources whether NEA can consider a shorter period of closure for the repairs and renovation carried out for hawker centres so that the hawkers may have better options to continue their operations.
Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) how many hawker centres are currently operating 24 hours a day; and (b) in each of the hawker centres which are currently operating 24 hours a day, what is the percentage of the stalls which are actually operating 24 hours a day over the total number of stalls in the respective hawker centres.
Questions for the Manpower Minister, Josephine Teo
Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Manpower in respect of the Work Injury Compensation (Workers’ Fund) (a) how many applications has the Ministry received so far; (b) how many workers have benefitted from the fund and its payouts since its introduction; and (c) whether there is any plan to increase the awareness of this fund.
Questions for the Minister for Social and Family Development, Desmond Lee
Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) to date, how many Singaporeans aged 65 and above have made their Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA); and (b) how can the Government better reach out to this group of senior citizens to do an LPA, especially with mental distress being on the rise.
Mr Sitoh Yih Pin: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what is the average cost that Singaporeans have to pay a certificate issuer to make a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA); and (b) whether the Ministry will consider expanding the categories of persons eligible to act as LPA certificate issuers.
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development in each of the past five years, what is the median and average monthly income of single unwed parents (i) below 35 years old (ii) between 35 and 36 years old and (iii) 36 years old and above, respectively.
Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development whether he can provide an update on the Government’s assessment as to whether to raise the cut-off age for the definition of “young person” in the Children and Young Persons Act from 16 years to 18 years, for consistency with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child which Singapore has acceded to.
Miss Cheng Li Hui: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development with regard to the riot at the Singapore Boys’ Home (a) what are the measures and precautions in place to detect, pre-empt and deter such incidences from occurring again; (b) what are the standard operating procedures and protocols when mass disturbances occur; and (c) what is the number of disturbances that occurred over the last five years in the Home.
Ms Yip Pin Xiu: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what is the current total number of people with physical disabilities, intellectual disabilities, and those who are blind or deaf in Singapore; and (b) whether there has been consideration to share the particulars of this group of people, while maintaining a high level of privacy, to VWOs or organisations that can help with outreach and provide support to this targeted group of people.