Debated in Parliament on 12 Feb 2015.
Mr David Ong asked the Minister for National Development (a) how many new Senior Activity Centres (SACs) at HDB blocks of rental flats and Studio Apartments have not taken over the premises at the contracted deadline last year; and (b) what are the main reasons for the delays.
The Minister of State for National Development (Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman) (for the Minister for National Development):Madam, HDB works closely with the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) in setting up SACs in Studio Apartment developments and rental blocks.
For SACs at Studio Apartment developments, the SAC operator will generally take over the SACs when HDB completes the construction of the facility.
Last year, HDB completed the construction of 11 SACs at Studio Apartment developments. In three of these cases, the appointed operators of the SACs requested for a later takeover as they had to manage their manpower and resource constraints.
HDB and MSF have been working closely with the operators to ensure that these SACs are opened promptly. They are now committed to commence the centres in April or May 2015.
Mdm Speaker, SACs encourage our elderly to remain socially engaged and to stay active. They also come with alert alarm systems which give peace of mind to the elderly as they can activate the alert systems during times of emergencies. So, two supplementary questions, Madam. One, I am not sure if more SACs in the pipeline will be delayed; so, what measures are there for HDB to have a prompt handover to MSF, so that the senior residents' social needs and safety will not be compromised due to such delays? Can the Ministry also work with MSF to make operational the alert alarm systems so that senior residents can be better served when they move in?
Madam, we agree with Mr Ong that we should not compromise the safety of our senior residents in the SACs. As mentioned earlier, of the 11 that were developed last year, three of the operators requested for a slightly delayed takeover period. Otherwise, HDB and MSF work very closely together. The operations are
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such that HDB builds the SACs, hands over to MSF, MSF works with the operators for a prompt delivery of the SACs following internal renovations and installing of all the other equipment. For these three, they had some challenges with regard to their manpower. But I think they will engage the Advisors on the ground to try and expeditiously provide their services and facilities and to make sure that the SACs are functional.
MSF will continue to work very closely with all the operators. From HDB's point of view, we will work with MSF to ensure that the timeline of the availability of the facilities to be handed over matches the ability for the operators to be ready and to provide the necessary services.
Mdm Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister of State about SACs located at rental blocks. I understand some of them have difficulties doing outreach to the senior citizens, because they do not have access to the database of residents staying there. Is HDB able to facilitate this outreach, for example, by writing to the senior residents based on HDB's records – just a letter from HDB, perhaps in four languages, to inform residents that there is this new facility and encourage them to take part in the activities over at the SACs?
Mdm Speaker, certainly, for rental flats, MSF assesses the need for SACs based on the parameters and the number of elderly in the rental blocks. MSF works very closely with the appointed operator or appointed VWO to encourage them to do the outreach to the residents. We appreciate the issue of confidentiality. We can work with MSF on Mr Baey's suggestion on whether HDB can protect the confidentiality and write to the residents to facilitate their understanding of such services that are available. These are some things that MSF and HDB can work together, to ensure that residents are well aware and, certainly, take advantage of services made available to them.
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