Public Buildings without Family-friendly Facilities and Plans to Encourage Owners to Retrofit Such Facilities

Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap asked the Minister for National Development (a) currently, how many public buildings frequented by families do not have family-friendly facilities such as a lactation room or a diaper changing room; and (b) what is being done to encourage the owners to retrofit such facilities in these existing buildings.

Since April 2014, new buildings that are frequented by families such as transport hubs, sports complexes, community clubs and larger shopping malls of more than 10,000 square metres in gross floor area, are required to provide family-friendly facilities under the Building and Construction Authority's (BCA) Code on Accessibility. Such facilities include lactation rooms and diaper changing stations. Existing buildings which undergo major retrofitting works also need to meet these requirements. To date, about 90 buildings have been newly developed or have undergone major retrofitting, and all have met the requirements. However, the actual number of buildings with family-friendly facilities is likely to be higher, as other building owners may have moved to provide such facilities on their own as part of their renovation works, for example, in malls. BCA does not track such buildings if they did not undergo major retrofitting works. From 2020, lactation rooms will also be required in more building types, including healthcare facilities.

BCA provides funding support under the Accessibility Fund for private building owners who wish to retrofit pre-1990 buildings with family-friendly facilities. For each eligible development, the Fund supports up to 60% of the retrofitting cost, up to a cap of $300,000. In addition to funding, BCA also worked with MSF to introduce a voluntary certification scheme in 2018 – the Universal Design Mark for Family-Friendly Business – to recognise businesses that provide family-friendly facilities and services.