The Singapore Parliament will sit at 12:30pm on Monday, 6 May 2019, for the 103rd session of the 13th Parliament.
*66 oral questions and 34 written question had been scheduled to be asked.
There will be a Ministrial Statement from Minister for Defence:
Findings and Follow-up actions on National Service Training Death.
At the commencement of Public Business, one Government Bill will be introduced:
Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill – (Minister for Home Affairs) – First Reading.
And 4 Government Bills will be read for the second time:
Criminal Law Reform Bill [Bill No. 6/2019] – (Minister for Home Affairs) – Second Reading.
Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Bill [Bill No. 10/2019] – (Minister for Law) – Second Reading.
Protection from Harassment (Amendment) Bill [Bill No. 11/2019] – (Minister for Law) – Second Reading.
Pioneer Generation Fund (Amendment) Bill [Bill No. 12/2019] – (Second Minister for Finance) – Second Reading.
For amendments on the Bill, see Supplement No.18 dated 6 May 2019.
Below are the questions filed towards the various Ministers
[toggle title=”Prime Minister” state=”close”]Ms Irene Quay Siew Ching: To ask the Prime Minister with regard to public agencies’ exemption from the Personal Data Protection Act (a) whether he can list out the specific clauses in the current laws and instruction manuals that provide for public agencies’ accountability on data breaches (not misuse of data) in public IT systems; and (b) whether he can explain how these clauses in the laws collectively impose a high standard of responsibility on all public agencies.
[/toggle] [toggle title=”Minister for Foreign Affairs” state=”close”]*Mr Vikram Nair: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs whether he can provide an update on the state of bilateral relations with Malaysia following the 9th Malaysia-Singapore Leaders Retreat.
Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs (a) whether there is any indication of human trafficking syndicates operating within ASEAN targeting the Rohingya people; and (b) if so, what coordinated steps can ASEAN Member states take to stop, prevent, and deter such human trafficking.
[/toggle] [toggle title=”Minister for Transport” state=”close”]*Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Transport whether enclosed void deck space in HDB housing estates covering the ground floor lift lobbies and letter box areas may be designated as pedestrian-only paths under the Active Mobility Act to reduce the risk of collision between PMD users and block residents in these areas.
*Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Transport whether he can provide an update on the Ministry’s efforts to encourage food delivery companies that engage deliverymen using PMDs or e-bikes to make food deliveries to take up third-party liability insurance covering their operations and promote safe riding habits amongst their deliverymen.
*Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Transport whether the Ministry receives complaints and feedback on reckless behaviour of personal mobility device (PMD) users for near-misses or accidents and, if so, what process is undertaken by the Ministry when it receives such complaints and feedback
*Mr Ang Hin Kee: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) what is the current monthly number of vehicle breakdowns on roads; (b) whether that pattern has changed over the years; (c) what is the most frequent type of vehicles that break down on the roads; (d) what is the current recovery time taken to clear vehicle breakdowns and whether it has improved over time; and (e) what more can be done to reduce the time needed to clear the roads due to vehicle breakdowns.
*Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Transport whether the Ministry will consider installing LCD display boards with a timer countdown feature on our MRT platforms to indicate the time remaining before the train doors close, for the safety and convenience of MRT commuters.
*Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Transport whether LTA will consider disallowing cyclists on bus lanes during the bus lane operating hours taking into consideration that the bus lane is not wide enough to provide a safety distance between the bus and the cyclist.
*Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Transport following Singapore’s withdrawal of the use of the Instrument Landing System (ILS) for Seletar Airport (a) what are the technical and commercial consequences to Seletar Airport; and (b) whether the ILS is regarded as necessary for the operation of Firefly flights at Seletar Airport when Singapore first decided to implement the ILS.
Mr Sitoh Yih Pin: To ask the Minister for Transport what are the steps that LTA has taken to ensure that the Thales signalling system used on Singapore’s MRT system is safe for operation in light of the train collisions at Joo Koon station in 2017 and on the Tseun Wan line in Hong Kong recently.
Mr Sitoh Yih Pin: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) whether LTA has considered reducing the speed limit for non-expressway roads to improve road safety in light of LTA’s push for the use of bicycles, e-bicycles and personal mobility devices on our streets and roads; and (b) if not, what are the considerations that LTA takes into account for not doing so.
Mr Ang Hin Kee: To ask the Minister for Transport whether he can provide a breakdown of the current number of taxi drivers and private hire drivers by their respective age groups.
Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) what are the current procedures in traffic recovery following traffic and road failures caused by accidents, road cracks and fallen trees; (b) how much time do current responses take to recover traffic to normal conditions; (c) whether there are plans to improve current responses to such sudden traffic failures; and (d) whether there are sufficient channels to notify motorists to avoid the affected area to prevent further congestion.
[/toggle] [toggle title=”Minister for National Development” state=”close”]*Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) how many appeals have been received from applicants or joint applicants for BTO flats who have obtained BTO flats more than twice in the last five years; (b) how many of such appeals have been approved; and (c) whether the Ministry will review and revise the existing schemes to accommodate such applicants and allow a conditional third chance to be given to such applicants.
*Mr Zainal Sapari: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what is the Ministry’s position on developers who offer two-year deferments to prospective buyers; (b) whether the buyer and seller stamp duty will be based on the date of signing the Option-to-Purchase obtained earlier under the twoyear deferment plan or on the date of signing the Sale and Purchase Agreement; and (c) whether developers are required to pay stamp duty for unsold units after five years even after an Option-To-Purchase has been obtained but a Sale and Purchase Agreement has not been executed yet.
*Dr Lily Neo: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether there are ongoing complaints from owners of apartments in DBSS projects about fixture defects such as recurrent discolored flooring; and (b) what help will the Ministry give to such apartment owners in resolving the issues with the DBSS developer after the defects liability period.
*Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) apart from relying on tip-offs and the risk assessment framework, what are the current efforts to deter and detect the international trade of pangolins in Singapore; (b) whether the Ministry can use the Multi-Mode Passive Detection System Generation 3 to detect wildlife products in shipments; and (c) whether the Ministry is exploring the use of other technologies to detect shipments of pangolins.
*Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) in the past three years, how many summons have been issued to offenders who feed pigeons; and (b) what other measures can the Ministry introduce to deter the feeding of pigeons.
*Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for National Development in the three years prior to 2017, there were about 70 cases in which enforcement action was taken against errant flat owners whose flats were overcrowded, (a) how often are checks and investigations conducted on HDB flats suspected of unauthorised subletting or overcrowding based on public feedback; (b) whether the current penalties are sufficient; and (c) how is the Ministry working with the community to enhance surveillance and awareness.
*Ms Rahayu Mahzam: To ask the Minister for National Development over the past three years (a) how many complaints have been made to the Council of Estate Agencies (CEA) about property agents; (b) what is the nature of the complaints made; and (c) how many property agents have been sanctioned by CEA for misconduct.
Mr Sitoh Yih Pin: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) how many trees have been uprooted and fallen in public spaces last year; (b) what are the reasons for these incidents; and (c) whether the Ministry has plans to further reduce the number of such incidents.
Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for National Development for each type of flat in the past five years (a) what are the percentages and numbers of HDB BTO applicants who have obtained HDB housing grants; (b) what are the numbers and percentages for each type of grant; and (c) what is the lowest price for that type of flat for the successful grant applicant.
Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for National Development with regard to flats under the 2-room flexi scheme for seniors (a) whether HDB has approved or will consider approving the transfer of such flats to a family member or estate beneficiary of the lessee should the lessee pass away before lease expiry; and (b) if so, under what conditions or circumstances such approval has been or will be granted.
Ms Rahayu Mahzam: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) in the past three years, how many illegal wildlife trade consignments have been detected at Singapore’s land, air and sea checkpoints; (b) how is technology used to better detect and deter illegal wildlife trade through Singapore’s checkpoints; and (c) how is Singapore working with international authorities to stamp out organised crime that deal with illegal wildlife trade.
[/toggle] [toggle title=”Minister for Health” state=”close”]*Dr Chia Shi-Lu: To ask the Minister for Health in light of the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria and fungus including Candida auris (a) whether the Ministry will be revising its strategy on measures to deal with superbugs; and (b) how will preventive measures be strengthened in our hospitals and clinics.
*Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Health in light of the dangers of multidrug-resistant pathogens such as candida auris, what measures are being planned to ensure that public confidence in our hospitals remains high.
*Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Health regarding the increasing number of active tuberculosis cases (a) what is being done to address the issue of the elderly increasingly making up a significant proportion of new active tuberculosis cases; and (b) what is being done to combat the multidrug resistant tuberculosis which is emerging.
*Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Health in view of the continued increase in the number of active tuberculosis (TB) cases from 2017 to 2018 (a) what measures are in place for early TB detection; and (b) whether the current measures to contain local TB cases are effective.
*Mr Alex Yam Ziming: To ask the Minister for Health with regard to the recently announced opt-in HPV vaccination (a) what has been the overall feedback received so far; (b) whether more can be done to address the misinformation regarding the medical and social effects of the vaccine; and (c) whether the Ministry is concerned by the mistrust engendered by the antivaccination movement.
*Ms Irene Quay Siew Ching: To ask the Minister for Health (a) how rigorous is medication tested by the Health Sciences Authority before the drugs enter Singapore; (b) whether the testing is in line with international testing standards; (c) whether there are public concerns with generic use of medications in Singapore; and (d) what are the steps and considerations taken by the Ministry compared to other countries’ handling of the same worldwide concern, particularly with the Losartan recall.
*Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether payment for accident and emergency (A&E) services in the public hospitals is needed to be made in full in cash upfront or after medical treatment has been rendered; and (b) whether low-income or needy patients seeking A&E services are eligible for subsidised fees.
*Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what is the rationale behind barring women above 45 years old from receiving in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatments in Singapore; (b) what is the rationale behind limiting the number of IVF fresh cycles for women above 40 years old; and (c) whether the Ministry is planning to review these restrictions.
*Dr Chia Shi-Lu: To ask the Minister for Health in view of the global increase in measles cases reported by the World Health Organisation, what measures are in place to prevent measles outbreaks in Singapore and whether these measures need to be strengthened further.
*Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Minister for Health in each year of the past five years, what is the number of people using Medisave to pay for their parents’ healthcare cost and what is the median withdrawal value.
*Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what are the concerns with the quality of training at the 57 overseas medical schools that are to be dropped from the current list of 160 approved schools; (b) how are these concerns measured and determined; and (c) whether Singaporean students currently studying at these schools or doctors who have graduated from these schools should be concerned with the quality of their training.
Assoc Prof Walter Theseira: To ask the Minister for Health for each year from 2016 to 2018, what is the average waiting time for seniors to access (i) home-based care services (ii) daycare services and (iii) respite care services, including emergency respite care.
Assoc Prof Walter Theseira: To ask the Minister for Health for each year from 2016 to 2018 (a) how many seniors have benefited from home-based care services; (b) how many referrals for home-based care have been received by the Agency for Integrated Care; (c) what is the total number of public and private home-based care providers; and (d) how many persons are employed in the home-based care sector, excluding foreign domestic workers.
Assoc Prof Walter Theseira: To ask the Minister for Health by household income or housing type and by age group, what is the current number of Singaporeans utilising nursing homes, home care, day care (including dementia day care) and respite care services respectively.
Assoc Prof Walter Theseira: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what is the current number of workers providing long-term care services, broken down by nationality, educational qualification or skill level, professional rank, and type of care service; (b) what are the skill and manpower gaps given rising demand; and (c) what are the plans to address such gaps.
Ms Anthea Ong: To ask the Minister for Health for 2018 (actual) and 2019 (budgeted), what is the percentage of spend on (i) mental health versus total healthcare spend (ii) diabetes versus total healthcare spend and (iii) ageing versus total healthcare spend.
Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Health regarding the three brands of a high blood pressure drug which are being recalled, what is being done to ensure that all medication is tested and cleared before being released into the market.
Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Health how is the Government supporting the diagnosis, treatment and subsidising of persons with rare diseases in Singapore.
[/toggle] [toggle title=”Minister for Home Affairs” state=”close”]*Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) for each year from 2008, how many cases of campus sexual harassment and sexual assault at autonomous universities were reported to the police; (b) of these, how many resulted in warnings and how many resulted in criminal prosecution; and (c) what were the considerations behind determining the nature of the action taken in such cases.
*Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs in light of the police report made by an NUS student against a person who took a video recording of her in the bathroom (a) how does the police assess whether a person should be given a conditional warning; (b) what percentage of suspects given a conditional warning in similar cases have been rehabilitated; (c) what percentage of suspects went on to reoffend; and (d) whether there is any review of this practice after this case has been discussed widely.
*Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs whether the Ministry will consider a public education campaign where people are educated not to watch or circulate voyeur videos or photos even if they do not contain nudity but which sexualise young people without their consent.
*Mr Alex Yam Ziming: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) how much casino entry fees have been collected from Singapore citizens and permanent residents since the fees were introduced; (b) how effective have the entry fees been in deterring problem gambling; and (c) whether the Ministry will consider doing away with the annual entry fee to further discourage compulsive gamblers.
*Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is the Ministry’s assessment of the casino-related crime situation in Singapore since the casinos commenced operations in 2010; and (b) what steps are taken to ensure that casino-related crime in Singapore will be kept in check.
*Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) in the past three years, how many police reports have been filed against users of personal mobility devices (PMD) who are involved in accidents where their victims were injured; (b) on average, how long does the investigation take to conclude a case; and (c) what is the average amount of compensation that has been ordered by the courts to be paid out to the victims.
*Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether any Singaporeans, Singapore Permanent Residents or families with a Singapore-nexus have been casualties in the bombings in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday 2019; and (b) what can our security agencies learn from the bombing incidents to help deter similar acts of violence from happening in places of worship in Singapore.
*Ms Rahayu Mahzam: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether the Ministry tracks the number of road accidents involving pedestrians who use their mobile phones; (b) if so, what are the numbers of such accidents over the past three years; and (c) whether there needs to be legislation or measures put in place to deter people from using their mobile phones while walking.
Ms Foo Mee Har: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs since the introduction of regulatory measures to restrict alcohol consumption in public places (a) what has been the number and trend of breaches since then; (b) what has been the number of public complaints relating to alcohol consumption in public places; and (c) whether there is a need to further restrict alcohol sale and consumption in HDB neighbourhood estates.
Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) how many cases of kitchen exhaust duct fires there have there been each year from 2014 to 2018; and (b) what measures are being taken to minimise the risk of such incidents.
[/toggle] [toggle title=”Minister for Communications and Information” state=”close”]Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information (a) whether the Ministry is aware of the complaints of poor customer service by the Singapore telcos; and (b) what can the Ministry do to get the telcos to improve their phone helpdesk especially for the many elderly customers who have to be put on hold for long periods to speak to an officer.
[/toggle] [toggle title=”Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance” state=”close”]*Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance currently, how many citizens live in private properties but do not have any declared income.
*Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) whether there is a remuneration cap for key management staff of Fifth Schedule companies like GIC and Temasek; and (b) for the past five years, what is the range of total annual remuneration, including salary, annual and performance bonuses, paid to the top three higher paid executives in GIC and Temasek respectively.
*Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) what oversight does ACRA have over auditors whose audit opinions of listed companies are later found to be wanting; and (b) what action is taken against such audit firms or their partners when they are found to be negligent.
[/toggle] [toggle title=”Minister for Education” state=”close”]*Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Minister for Education in the past three years (a) how many cases of sexual harassment or misconduct have been reported by undergraduate students in each of the autonomous universities; and (b) how many of such cases have been referred to the police for prosecution.
*Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Education (a) how many cases of serious disciplinary cases involving students at our institutes of higher learning (IHLs) have there been over the last three years; (b) how many students have been expelled; and (c) how does the Ministry ensure that the disciplinary frameworks for the IHLs are robust and consistent.
*Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Education (a) for each year from 2008, how many cases of on campus sexual harassment and sexual assault at autonomous universities were reported to the campus authorities; (b) how many resulted in administrative penalties from campus authorities and no further action; (c) how many resulted in administrative penalties and police action; (d) what were the nature of the administrative punishments issued; (e) what were the considerations behind determining administrative penalties; and (f) what support was provided to victims in such cases.
*Ms Tin Pei Ling: To ask the Minister for Education what measures are in place to prevent sexual harassment in all school settings and what will be done to enhance student protection.
*Ms Foo Mee Har: To ask the Minister for Education what safeguards and measures are in place at institutes of higher learning to (i) protect students from sexual harassment or misconduct and (ii) support affected victims and facilitate case reporting.
*Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for Education (a) what measures were put in place to reduce sexual harassment and misconduct in autonomous universities and polytechnics after reports of sexualised harassment during orientation activities in 2016; (b) what steps were taken to review these measures subsequently; (c) what were the shortcomings; (d) what steps have been taken to improve; and (e) what further steps are planned.
*Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for Education (a) what are the forms of training provided at educational institutions to address sexual harassment and assault cases, including support for victims; (b) what are the measures to support victims; (c) what are the policies pertaining to investigating allegations of sexual harassment and assault; and (d) what are the procedures in place to review the effectiveness of such measures and to propose improvements.
*Ms Irene Quay Siew Ching: To ask the Minister for Education with regard to the post-secondary admission system to be implemented in 2028 (a) how does the new subject banding determine subsequent admission to postsecondary institutions of choice; and (b) how can it be ensured that a student chooses subject bands based on his ability and talent and not influenced primarily by entry criteria of his favoured post-secondary institutions.
*Mr Zainal Sapari: To ask the Minister for Education (a) in the last three years, what has been the trend and number of workplace accidents in schools involving school cleaners engaged by the Ministry; (b) what is the percentage of such school cleaners who have undergone training related to workplace safety and health (WSH); and (c) whether the Ministry can consider mandating all cleaning team leaders and supervisors in schools to attend the WSH Hazard Identification and Risk Management Course to reduce potential workplace injuries sustained by school cleaners.
Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Education whether the Ministry will implement public education programmes to inform parents and students about the facts regarding vaccines so that they can make informed choices regarding voluntary vaccines.
Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for Education (a) what is the current demand for Higher Chinese at Primary One level; (b) which are the schools that offer Higher Chinese at Primary One level; and (c) whether the Ministry will increase the number of schools which are currently offering Higher Chinese or Higher Mother Tongue.
[/toggle] [toggle title=”Minister for Law” state=”close”] [/toggle] [toggle title=”Minister for Manpower” state=”close”]*Dr Lim Wee Kiak: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) what is the average CPF balance for individual CPF members at varying percentiles from the 5th to the 95th percentile; and (b) whether the CPF Board will consider offering differentiated interest rates so those with lower CPF balances can receive more interest to build up their balances and a lower interest rate for those who have high balances.
*Ms Anthea Ong: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether persons with mental health conditions will be included in the Special Employment Credit and Open Door programmes and, if so, when; and (b) given that the Workplace Safety and Health Institute’s Research Agenda for Singapore 2018-2020 listed “work stress” as one of its priorities under long-term challenges alongside “ageing workforce and technology”, whether the Ministry is considering legislative interventions for risk assessments and counter-measures in the area of physical and mental health.
*Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry will consider introducing short-term work permits for foreign domestic workers to provide respite support for families and to allow employment agencies to cater to families requiring short-term domestic help.
*Mr Ang Hin Kee: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Ministry plans to engage the new management team of Uber’s new Asia Pacific Regional Hub to ensure that the company’s manpower management will be better this time round and complies with tripartite standards so as to avoid a repeat of employees and contract staff who were left in a lurch during the company’s sudden exit in 2018; and (b) whether there remains unresolved disputes among ex-staff and contract workers with regard to their sudden termination.
*Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Manpower for each year in the past five years for non-Malaysian work permit holders with salary claims, what is the number of cases whereby (i) the employer does not pay the full sum ordered by the Labour Court or Employment Claims Tribunal (ii) the security bond is invoked to repay the worker (iii) the Migrant Workers’ Assistance Fund (MWAF) is used to repay the worker and (iv) both the security bond and MWAF are invoked.
Ms Anthea Ong: To ask the Minister for Manpower of the unpaid salaries ordered by the Employment Claims Tribunal in 2017 and 2018 (a) how much was owed to foreign employees; and (b) how much has been recovered by these foreign employees to whom these salary debts were owed.
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Government has conducted a study on the gender pay gap in Singapore using fixed parameters of occupation and years of service; and (b) if so, what are the results of the study and, if not, whether it intends to conduct such a study.
Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong: To ask the Minister for Manpower in 2018, how many Singapore citizens earned less than $1,300 per month from full-time work and how many earned less than $2,000 per month from fulltime work.
Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) how many foreign domestic workers are currently covered by additional medical insurance beyond the compulsory coverage of $15,000 for inpatient care and day surgery per annum; and (b) whether the Ministry will require the compulsory medical insurance to also cover outpatient care.
[/toggle] [toggle title=”Minister for Social and Family Development” state=”close”]*Mr Seah Kian Peng: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether he can provide an update on problem gambling in Singapore; (b) what is his assessment on the effectiveness of the social safeguards introduced since the entry of the Integrated Resorts in 2005; and (c) what new safeguards will be considered going forward.
*Ms Anthea Ong: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) in addressing inequality and social mobility which are inter-agency issues, what is the reason for the difference in income ceilings for ComCare Assistance ($1,900/$650 per capita), the Public Rental Scheme ($1,500), the Workfare Income Supplement ($2,300) and the financial assistance scheme for education ($2,750/$690 per capita); (b) how are these different ceilings derived; and (c) what is the minimum cost of living that is used as a guide for our social policies.
*Mr Zainal Sapari: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what is the average and median amount in the Child Development Account (CDA) for children born in 2006 when they reached 12 years of age by 31 December 2018; (b) what is the percentage of children in this cohort where the parents are able to fully maximise the co-matching amount for their child’s CDA; and (c) whether the Ministry can extend the closure of a CDA to when the child is 16 years old before the balance is transferred to the child’s Post-Secondary Education Account which will then allow the child’s parents more years to co-match up to the allowable cap.
Assoc Prof Walter Theseira: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) in each of the last three years, how many applications has the Ministry received for the ComCare Child Care subsidy; (b) how many of these applications have been approved; (c) what is the demographic profile of the successful and rejected applicants respectively; and (d) what are the common reasons for rejection.
Mr Sitoh Yih Pin: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether all student care centres in Singapore are regulated by the Ministry; and (b) whether there are requirements for background checks or screening of candidates to be teachers, staff or volunteers at student care centres and, if not, whether the Ministry has any plans to do so in the future.
Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development for each year in the past five years (a) what is the median number of days of paternity leave taken by fathers; and (b) what is the median number of days of shared parental leave taken by fathers.
[/toggle] [toggle title=”Minister for Trade and Industry” state=”close”]*Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) what are the reasons for providing Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa with the option to increase their Approved Gaming Area by 2,000 square meters and 500 square meters respectively; (b) whether a study has been carried out to examine whether an increase in gaming area would cause a rise in problem gambling; and (c) what further measures will be put in place to help ensure that problem gambling will be deterred.
*Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry why the expansion of gaming areas for the two casinos by 2,000 square meters for Marina Bay Sands (MBS) and 500 square meters for Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) and the increase in gambling machines from 2,500 to 3,500 for MBS and 3,300 for RWS are necessary for the commercial viability of the proposed expansion of the integrated resorts.
*Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) why did the Casino Regulatory Authority allow MBS and RWS to increase their approved gaming area by 13% and 3% respectively, and their slot machines by 40% and 34% respectively; and (b) prior to the approvals, were any stakeholders consulted in respect of the possible social implications on Singaporeans arising from the proposed increases and, if so, who were these stakeholders.
*Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) how does the Government ensure that the land cost to be paid by the existing integrated resort (IR) operators is fair without calling for a public tender; (b) what is the estimated increase in tax revenue that both IRs are expected to generate with the additional investment; (c) whether the increase in tax revenue will be able to support the increased health care needs of Singaporeans; and (d) whether the increase in casino entry fees can be channelled to meet the increased health care needs of Singaporeans.
*Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) how much land has been allocated for the proposed expansion of Marina Bay Sands (MBS) and Resorts World Sentosa (RWS); (b) how much will MBS and RWS be paying for the land; and (c) how much additional land cost will each have to pay for the expansion of the gaming areas of the casinos.
*Mr Ong Teng Koon: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) whether the Ministry will consider the anti-scalping laws of other jurisdictions, for example the Major Sports Facilities Act (Queensland, Australia), the Digital Economy Act (UK), the Places of Public Entertainment Ordinance Act (Hong Kong), the Securing Paper Distribution of Entertainment Tickets Act (Japan), and similar legislation in more than 10 states in the United States; and (b) whether the Ministry will study the implementation of such legislation in Singapore to protect the interests of consumers from market manipulation by scalpers.
Ms Rahayu Mahzam: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry in light of the recent recall of the Fisher-Price baby rocker in the US (a) whether these rockers have been imported into Singapore; (b) whether there is a process of tracking and assessing the safety of infant or baby products that are imported into Singapore; and (c) what are the measures in place to ensure imported products meant for infant or children are safe for use.
Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) what is the Ministry’s assessment of the risk posed to the competitiveness of key industries in Singapore such as financial services and ICT by China’s plan for a Greater Bay Area; and (b) what plans are being developed to draw economic benefits and mitigate competitive risk from the Greater Bay Area project.
[/toggle] [toggle title=”Minister for Culture, Community and Youth” state=”close”]*Ms Anthea Ong: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) of the 8,000 youths who took part in the youth conversations in 2018, what is the number and percentage of youths who indicated mental wellbeing as a top concern; (b) what plans does the Ministry have to address the issue of youth mental health; and (c) how will these plans align with the Ministry’s Community Mental Health Masterplan and programmes being undertaken by other agencies.
[/toggle] [toggle title=”Minister for Defence” state=”close”]*Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Defence (a) why does SAF still require 10 working days to process NSmen make up pay for incamp training; and (b) whether SAF can reduce the current processing time of 10 working days.
Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for Defence (a) what strategic role does the Government play in approving, restricting or advising Singapore Technologies Land Systems (formerly ST Kinetics) regarding export sales of weapons and ammunition to potential buyers; and (b) whether and how such decisions take into account risk factors such as the likelihood of such arms being used to commit war crimes or in violation of international law.
[/toggle] [toggle title=”Minister for the Environment and Water Resources” state=”close”]*Mr Seah Kian Peng: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) what is the impact to Singapore in the event of a prolonged stoppage of water treatment operations at the Johor River Waterworks; and (b) what are Singapore’s obligations to provide treated water to Johor under such a scenario.
*Dr Lily Neo: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) how often has the raw water quality been unacceptable for our water treatment plants in Johor since they have been in operation; (b) how did that affect the supply of water to Singapore and Johor; and (c) what is the mitigation plan going forward.
*Mr Alex Yam Ziming: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) whether he can provide an update on Phases 1 and 2 of Project Wolbachia in the control of the Aedes aegypti mosquito vector; (b) how long will the Phase 3 field study last; and (c) whether Project Wolbachia can be accelerated in light of the increased incidents of dengue infections in the first quarter of 2019.
*Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) what are the causes of the sudden spike of dengue cases in the first quarter of 2019; (b) what are the measures in place to detect dengue cases early; and (c) what is the Ministry’s plan to reduce dengue cases especially during the dengue peak seasons.
Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources in light of the increasing number of mass food poisoning cases (a) whether the Ministry has detected systemic issues in our food hygiene framework; (b) whether the current training and enforcement regime is adequate; and (c) what are the Ministry’s plans to prevent future cases.
Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources how can the Ministry work with our financial institutions and funding bodies to divert more support for environmentally sustainable projects while reducing exposure to those with adverse impact on the environment.
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