Eligibility Criteria for COVID-19 Support Grant

Mr Speaker, I will address Ms Denise Phua’s question on the eligibility criteria for the COVID-19 Support Grant (CSG) in this reply, as well as the question by Mr Liang Eng Hwa1, which was filed for tomorrow.

Sir, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the livelihoods of many Singaporeans, causing job and income loss. CSG was initially designed to support lower to middle income households facing unemployment due to retrenchment or contract termination after 23 January 2020, when the first case of COVID-19 was detected in Singapore. Ms Denise Phua asks whether persons are eligible for CSG if they have not met the required eligibility of three full months of unemployment. Allow me to clarify that for applicants in this group, there is no requirement for them to be unemployed for three months before applying.

Beyond supporting those who are unemployed, MSF has expanded the scheme to help employees who have been placed on involuntary no-pay-leave (NPL) for three or more consecutive months, as well as those who have lost at least 30% of their monthly salary for three or more consecutive months. The "three or more consecutive months" requirement for NPL and income loss scenarios is to ensure that help is channelled to those who have greater needs.

Affected employees need not wait till they are affected for three consecutive months to apply. They are eligible for CSG now if they provide supporting documents, such as a letter from their employer, showing that they will be affected for at least three consecutive months. Individuals who are ineligible for CSG but require further support can apply for ComCare assistance.

Those who are receiving ComCare assistance and who have been further impacted by the pandemic, should be assessed for further assistance under the ComCare scheme and not the CSG. ComCare provides monthly cash assistance to low-income households who need help to cover their daily living expenses, including food and other basic living needs. ComCare also provides assistance with household bills and medical expenses. Based on the families’ needs and circumstances, MSF’s Social Service Offices or SSOs, also facilitate their access to other relevant services and support by government agencies and community partners.

To further assist ComCare beneficiaries, those whose assistance would end between May and July 2020 have had their support automatically extended for a further six months. ComCare beneficiaries are invited to approach the SSOs for a review of their current support if their circumstances have changed, for instance, if they have lost their jobs or faced a reduction in income because of the COVID-19 pandemic. While reviewing their ComCare support, SSOs can also provide them with interim assistance if they have urgent financial needs.

Those who are newly placed on ComCare will receive at least six months of assistance, providing them with a longer runway to regain stability.

The Government will continue to review how we can better support those who have been adversely impacted due to COVID-19.

I thank the Minister for his comprehensive response regarding the CSG. Clearly, the Government has covered many grounds to assist citizens and Permanent Residents (PRs) affected by the pandemic. Just one supplementary question. The different schemes are administered by different organisations – for example, ComCare applicantions will be administered by MSF, help for the self-employed persons will be by NTUC and I think the drivers who are affected are supported by MOT. Is there a way by which there is a one-stop clearing house so that a person who is affected will not need to know where to go but they can be directed by the respective personnel who are supporting them, so they know where to go to. I also want to know if MSF then would exercise flexibility. For example, if a self-employed person technically does not meet the eligibility criteria for the Self-employed Person Income Relief Scheme (SIRS) programme, will MSF be flexible enough to at least advise or support them so that they can get help, anyhow.

Sir, when people apply for certain schemes at the SSOs and my officers identify that they are self-employed and would qualify or would potentially qualify, or should apply for SIRS, then they will make the necessary referrals across. I have also seen situations where the team that administers SIRS also refers cases over to the SSOs. Essentially, we need to ensure that agenices who have deep knowledge in the schemes that they administer, to be able to focus on their schemes but also have good awareness about related schemes and programmes that are beneficial to Singaporeans at this time, to be able to make the necessary referrals, link-ups and to also point people in the right direction.

It is also very important to have good communications to make sure that Singaporeans know where to go to, whom to call, what the eligibility criteria of the different schemes are. And that is as much an important exercise in offering assistance, as is the actual administration of the scheme itself.

So, in this regard, especially for those who are more vulnerable, low-income households, MSF, People's Association (PA) and MCCY will be strengthening of our SG Cares community networks where, in phases and stages, we will bring together the community of volunteers and staff to proactively reach out to lower income, more vulnerable households, beginning with those living in rental flats – just to check in on them, find out how they are doing. Because of their situation, they tend to be more vulnerable.

In order to do so, it is not just to offer them assistance within the stable of programmes that MSF or PA or MCCY have, but to be able to understand what their needs are holistically and then, pull in the relevant schemes and programmes from other agencies, and indeed, from the local community as well. Through much better coordination, integration, data-sharing, that will allow us to provide a more seamless, integrated social safety net for those who are very hard hit by the on-going crisis.