Committee of Supply – Head I (Ministry of Social and Family Development)

Madam, what do Isaac Newton, Vincent Van Gough and Aristotle have in common? They were epileptic. What about Mr Lee Kuan Yew, Albert Einstein and Richard Branson? Dyslexia. Thomas Edison and Beethovan? They were hearing-impaired. Claude Monet, Stevie Wonder and Yeo Sze Ling? Visually-impaired. Stephen Hawkings, Roosevelt and Dr William Tan – wheelchair-bound, but like the rest, spirit and intellect-unbound! Need I say more?

When Starbucks opened its 100th store down the road from here, it chose to hire autistic people. Not out of charity but because their obsession with doing exactly as the task requires makes for great quality control!

Madam, disabilities can be special abilities, but a lot of time their potentials are only limited by our mindset and our imaginations. We are the ones who need to make a paradigm shift to see the flourishing of these amazing abilities. We need bold big moves to unleash their potentials.

Could the Minister consider the following points:

(a) Look into what special needs could be converted into special abilities and corollary, fund special needs-friendly education and special ability skills training schemes;

(b) Fund technology and business innovations to create integrated workplaces and intermediaries that tap the abilities of these people; and

(c) Singaporeans have been making waves in assistive technology. Why not grow it, along with some special needs apps and special abilities training into a cutting edge industry that will be of high value, scale-able and exportable, to turn the world around for people with special abilities!

Mdm Chair, the Enabling Master Plan 2012 to 2016 was introduced by MSF two years ago. It was announced two years ago. We are now at the halfway mark. We would appreciate if the Minister could

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provide an update of the progress made.

Meanwhile, MOE had announced additional measures to help students with disabilities, including the setting up of disability offices at ITE, Polytechnic and University. This is a welcome move. However, MOE officials have also on various occasions made it clear that the responsibilities of finding employment for these students after their graduation lie with MSF and other VWOs.

To this end, we are glad that SG Enable is formed to help find jobs for the Persons With Disabilities (PWDs), amongst its other functions. I had visited the new SG Enable premises last year and noticed that it now occupies the sprawling ground of the previous e2i campus. I understand that SG Enable is trying its best to tie up with companies that are willing to employ PWDs and attract social enterprises to set up shops at its campus, but it is facing an uphill task due to various factors.

We hope that the Government could provide more incentives for private companies, quasi-Government and Government agencies to tie up with SG Enable to provide more employment opportunities for the PWDs. These incentives could include lower rent for social enterprises to set up shop at SG Enable campus or more relaxed foreign worker quota or even better tax incentive for firms that hire a significant number of PWDs.

We hope that the SG Enable campus can be the incubator for social enterprise start-ups that seek to employ PWDs, much like Block 71 at Ayer Rajah is the incubator for IT start-up companies.

Madam, on the cut on transport for persons with disabilities, we are pleased that MSF will soon offer PWDs a continuum of transport options from discount on public transport to subsidies for dedicated transport.

PWDs with lower mobility typically need to take dedicated transport, including wheelchair-friendly vehicles, to gain access to schools, daycare centres as well as clinics or hospitals for medical checkups. With the new subsidy, we can expect the demand for dedicated transport services to increase significantly.

It would make sense to stretch the subsidy dollars so that the sector as a whole could provide an extensive, efficient and effective transport dedicated to

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PWDs. I recommend that the disability sector pool their resources together to reap the economy of scale rather than having each individual VWO buy its own vehicles to ferry the PWDs.

To this end, MSF could help to set up a coordinating committee to develop a plan to minimise duplications, possibly stagger demand so as to maximise the usage of limited resources, namely, the vehicles and the drivers. With the strategy, the coordinating committee can then call a tender to engage a few transport operators to provide the dedicated transport service for PWDs.

Mdm Chair, at the other end of the spectrum, PWDs with higher mobility could enjoy a 25% discount when they take public buses and trains. This is a generous gesture which will be appreciated by PWDs and their caregivers. However, the public also need to understand that PWDs have special needs and may unintentionally upset other commuters. At times, they might be deliberately taken advantage of by some commuters. I would like to urge MSF to consider working with Singapore Kindness Movement to launch a campaign to educate the public so that all could have a better and more pleasant ride on the public transport.

Mdm Chair, it is never easy to be last. Perhaps, it is both a pleasure and honour to deliver the last cut for this fruitful Budget. Madam, first let me declare my interest as a member of the National Committee on Youth Guidance and Rehabilitation to which the Central Youth Guidance Office serves as the Secretariat.

CYGO, for short, as an inter-Ministry setup comprising officers seconded from MOE, MHA and MSF, has been looking at early intervention strategies to prevent youth at-risk from committing crime. Over the last few years, CYGO has implemented a number of programmes and pilots, including Youth Go!, YES, YIS, and the YEARS programmes. They have been aimed at re-engaging youths who are at risk.

I would therefore like to enquire how these programmes have progressed and what has been the result of the efforts. What more can the Ministry do to further reach out to vulnerable youths?

A Spanish philosopher Jose Ortega Gasset once said, "There may be as much nobility in being last as in being first, because the two are mutually

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necessary… one to complement the other." So, with this last cut for 2014, I thank you for your indulgence.

Mdm Chair, I would like to thank all Members who have spoken yesterday and today and highlighted the needs of vulnerable groups in our midst. We are committed to strengthen the nation's social safety net so that no one gets left behind. However, the Government cannot do this alone; we call upon every Singaporean, every resident, every enterprise and, in fact, the community to be part of these efforts to create a

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caring society that we can be proud of.

The Minister has earlier illustrated how MSF will widen ComCare assistance. I will now elaborate on how we will empower and enable persons with disabilities, the youths-at-risk, vulnerable families and the elderly. I will also reaffirm the important role of the family and the Ministry's plans to strengthen this cornerstone of our society.

Ms Denise Phua and Mr Ang Wei Neng had asked for an update on the Enabling Masterplan. This is the second year of the five-year roadmap to enable persons with disabilities to participate fully in society.

Mdm Chair, we have prepared a brochure to summarise the progress we have made on the Enabling Masterplan. May I have your permission to distribute it to hon Members?

In 2013, Singapore ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This was made possible by the strong collaboration and support among VWOs, Government agencies, the private sector and persons with disabilities. This milestone ratification boosts our aim of making Singapore a place where persons with disabilities are empowered and enabled and are also given full opportunities to become important and contributing members of our society.

Starting with the young, we all know early intervention is crucial for preschoolers with learning needs. Over 1,000 preschoolers with mild developmental delays received early intervention and help through the Development Support Programme (DSP) that ran in 200 mainstream preschools last year. DSP provided these children with classroom support and therapy intervention. MSF will continue to improve on such programmes.

We have also improved assistance to young children with moderate to severe disabilities, including cerebral palsy – Mr Png Eng Huat spoke about this yesterday. The Early Intervention Programme for Infants and Children (EIPIC) provides learning and therapy support services to this group of children. The Minister for Finance had announced the expanded coverage and subsidies for EIPIC that will amount to $32 million each year, which is an increase of 74%.

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Just to recap: taking effect from October this year, first and foremost, MSF will raise the universal subsidy for EIPIC from $300 to $500 and this is universal subsidy. Every Singaporean child attending programmes at EIPIC centres will get this subsidy. In addition, we will broaden the per capita income eligibility level from $1,500 to $3,000. This means that 80% of those in the EIPIC programme will receive subsidies, compared to half today. The quantum of subsidies will also be increased. Families will pay less in out-of-pocket expenses for EIPIC. For example, middle-income families will pay about $100, compared to $300 for a similar level of service.

Just to give Members an example. Vera is one of the children who will benefit from this move. She has a developmental disorder and congenital medical conditions. She attends EIPIC at the AWWA Early Years Centre. Currently, Vera's parents have to pay $200 monthly, after subsidies from the Government and AWWA. With the recent boost in Government subsidies for EIPIC, Vera's parents will pay half of what they used to pay, that is, $100 a month. These subsidies will help the family as they incur high medical costs for her many other conditions. Such subsidies will enable VWOs like AWWA to also serve more children with disabilities.

These changes improve the accessibility and affordability of early intervention services by catching those who fall through the cracks. We will also increase the capacity and quality of EIPIC, as highlighted by Er Dr Lee Bee Wah and Ms Mary Liew. In the last two years, we have brought down the average waiting time from six to four months. The number of EIPIC places will grow 7.5% from today's 2,500 places to 2,700 places by end 2015.

In the area of medical care, the needs of these children are also being addressed. Ms Mary Liew had asked if more subsidies could be given to special needs children who require long-term medical follow-up. MediShield coverage has been extended to cover congenital and neonatal conditions. The special needs children will stand to benefit from MOH's enhancement of subsidies for specialist outpatient care later this year.

We are certainly pressing on to do more for those with disabilities. As Miss Penny Low pointed out, we can harness assistive technology to overcome the challenges posed by disabilities. Currently, the Assistive Technology Fund helps persons with disabilities defray the high costs of mobility and communication devices like wheelchairs and hearing aids, just to quote some

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examples. The number of applications from the fund has grown by over 30% in 2013. MOE also provides assistive learning devices to students with disabilities. At MSF, we are studying how to better leverage this area of technology to make it easier for those with disabilities to study well, gain new skills and become employable.

We also want to motivate our employers to integrate and empower persons with disabilities. In 2012, the Government extended the Special Employment Credit and Workfare Income Supplement to encourage employment of persons with disabilities. As at December 2013, more than 4,500 employers have received the Special Employment Credit for hiring 5,700 persons with disabilities. The Workfare Income Supplement has also benefited more than 4,600 persons with disabilities.

We will continue to empower those with disabilities so that they can gain greater independence and fulfil their potential through their work. Mr Ang Wei Neng, Ms Mary Liew and Miss Penny Low have touched on the training and employment prospects of persons with disabilities, especially for those from our SPED (Special Education) schools. This is one of the reasons why SG Enable was set up last year.

SG Enable not only serves as a focal point for services that enable and empower those with disabilities, it also drives and promotes their employment and employability. SG Enable is also working with MOE to strengthen the transition of Special Education students into employment. It has also started an internship programme to let our special needs students from Institutes of Higher Learning gain valuable work exposure. This will certainly enhance their skills, experience and also build up their work-readiness.

SG Enable sees opportunities to work with partners to encourage social enterprise incubations at its Redhill site, as quoted by Mr Ang Wei Neng earlier. As a start, MSF and SG Enable are organising a community event next month and this event is called "Enabling Community CoLab". This aims to develop ideas to empower persons with disabilities. How does it work? For instance, some daily tasks can pose very serious challenges to persons with disabilities, such as moving around a supermarket with narrow aisles and also high racks. So, the CoLab will look into such difficulties and encourage innovative ways to address such needs. We will also bring in private players to support such solutions.

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As SG Enable reaches out to more companies and organisations, we look forward to their active participation in contributing to the vision of a caring Singapore. Each of us has a role to play in helping those with disabilities – whether at work, at school or at play; from the very young to the very old.

For older adults with disabilities, Ms Denise Phua and Mr Png Eng Huat have highlighted their needs for more assistance in finances and care. Ms Denise Phua suggested tiered funding for day activity centres to better cater to the varying types and severities of adult disabilities. I want to assure Ms Denise Phua that MSF is looking into this as we continue to ramp up the care services for adult disabilities. By the end of this year, 2014, there would be 140 new places in day activity centres that provide care and skills training for adults with higher care needs.

We understand the concerns of those who care for persons with disabilities. We want to help lighten their load. The Foreign Domestic Worker Grant and Levy Concession defray the costs of hiring domestic helpers to care for their family members with disabilities. To provide more affordable and flexible care options, we have recently extended funding support to also cover part-time day care services. MSF is also looking into home-based care services which will also provide caregivers with respite. In the area of long-term care, the Ministry is building four new adult disability homes. And the first home to be completed in 2017 will be located at Sembawang Walk. It will serve persons with intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Over the next few years, we will also expand the present capacity of current homes. By 2018, the number of places in adult disability homes will double, with 1, 000 new places.

Besides expanding our reach of care, we are taking steps to ensure quality and standards of care in residential facilities. To this end, MSF will introduce a licensing framework for Adult Disability Homes in 2016. Meanwhile, we are working with the Voluntary Welfare Organisations (VWOs) to build up capabilities and prepare them for a smooth transition to this licensing framework.

Mdm Chair, I will now move on to the subject of transport for persons with disabilities. Transport is a key enabler that opens avenues to education, improves chances for jobs and creates new opportunities. For persons with disabilities, access to affordable transport increases their chances of being plugged into society. Therefore, the Government is making significant moves to lower the transport cost for persons with disabilities.

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First, we are providing a special public transport concession for all persons with disabilities. Starting from July this year, they will enjoy 25% off travel on buses and rail. As of now, more than 20,000 eligible persons with disabilities would have received an invitation letter from SG Enable to apply for this concession. They can apply from 6 April onwards.

Second, we will provide subsidies for users of dedicated transport such as buses and vans. These vehicles ferry persons with disabilities to EIPIC, SPED schools, day activity centres and sheltered workshops. Singaporeans with per capita income of $2,600 or below will enjoy subsidies on 30% to 80% of their transport cost, depending on their household income. This move will benefit about two-thirds of families caring for those with disabilities.

Third, MSF will introduce taxi subsidies for persons with disabilities who are working or schooling but are unable to take public or dedicated transport. Starting from October this year, the means-tested taxi transport subsidies will benefit those with a per capita income of $1,800 or less. It will reach 50% of those who rely on taxis as their form of transportation. Applications for these subsidies start next month on 1 April. We will share more details on the application process soon.

Together, these three transport subsidies will benefit more than 50,000 persons with disabilities. It will cost the Government $24 million per year. We want to ensure that transport cost will not be a barrier to those with disabilities. Instead, the ease and affordability of transportation to their place of work, school or care will bring them closer to achieving their hopes and also enjoying quality of care. Caregivers will also benefit from these three transport subsidies because of the accessibility and the ease of bringing them to school or the place of care.

Now, take for example Siti Zulaikha. She has congenital heart disease and suffers from developmental delays. Her younger brother has Down Syndrome. We understand that their grandparents are looking after them as their father is currently in prison and their mother is intellectually disabled. Grandpa is currently the sole breadwinner in the family. Thankfully, Zulaikha's condition has improved by leaps and bounds since she attended EIPIC at the Thye Hua Kwan EIPIC Centre in Chua Chu Kang. However, the family cannot afford her monthly transport fee to school and the transport allowance from VWOs ends this coming June. With the newly announced transport subsidy, Zulaikha can now continue to receive her early intervention and care through EIPIC at Chua Chu Kang. We want to help more children like Zulaikha and their families, so that no child gets deprived of help because of transport costs or transport

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problems.

Having said that, we will not stop at just transport subsidies. I support Mr Ang Hin Kee's suggestion to get more taxi drivers to ferry disabled passengers. We have heartening news from SMRT that the 30 London wheelchair-friendly cabs co-funded by MSF last year are actively meeting the transport needs of those with disabilities. As Mr Ang has mentioned, let us all rally and increase the pool of taxi drivers whose hearts are driven to care. We will tap on technology to maximise this resource and also aim to improve the availability of taxi services for people and persons with disabilities.

As pointed out by Mr Ang Wei Neng earlier, we can raise the efficiency of transport services to better serve those with disabilities. We will explore the possibility of pooling and optimising vehicles and drivers from different VWOs. We can grow customised transport services for the disability sector and also create more efficient fleet management.

Mdm Chair, we have made some headway in realising the Enabling Masterplan. I think, by now, our Members would have received the brochure. This is a progress report of the Enabling Masterplan. Now, if you have read this over the past couple of minutes, you can see that we are taking a life-cycle approach from the time of birth to childhood, to youth, adulthood and then silver years. We have endeavoured to empower and also enable those with disabilities to participate fully in our society. To this end, I urge all Members in this House to continue to support us in realising this vision.

Let us now turn our attention to our youths-at-risk. They are like – as Mr Alex Yam had mentioned – unpolished diamonds that need our attention, care and protection. Mr Alex Yam had asked for an update on the initiatives by the Central Youth Guidance Office (CYGO). The efforts to draw the youths at-risk away from the fringe and toward meaningful activities have shown promising results.

Over the past one-and-a-half years, the Central Youth Guidance Office has reached out to a total of 6,700 youths through the pilot Youth GO! Programme taking place in the North East and North West Districts. This programme has encouraged the youths-at-risk to study, work and stay away from crime. The youths are befriended on the streets and invited to activities such as fishing and barbeques. For youths who need more help, the Youth GO! Workers will also provide casework and counselling intervention. Youth GO! continues till end

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this year and will certainly be evaluated for future expansion.

Besides keeping the youths meaningfully occupied, we will also help those who have stopped school. The Ministry's Youth Employment System targets this group of youths to help them gain work and stay employed. The Youth Employment and Advancement Hub started in July last year provides them with services like career assessment, life skills training and workplace mentorship. At present, there are 44 youths-at-risk receiving assessment and training at this hub.

The Central Youth Guidance Office will certainly look into areas of programme design, capabilities development and also funding for youth agencies to expand its work further. We will certainly spare no effort in seeking out those at risk to turn dark alleys into avenues of hope and a bright future. This leads me now to another vulnerable group of our society that needs our support.

Today, a vast majority of single parents are divorced single parents. Since 2007, there are 7,000 divorces and more than 8,000 children affected by such break-ups every year. Divorce unleashes a significant impact on families and the children. We share Mr Alex Yam and Mr Seah Kian Peng's concerns that families facing divorce need extra support. The breakdown of a marriage can be traumatic, especially for the child. Often times, he or she is, unfortunately, caught in between the divorcing couple and, many times, the child's interests and welfare are adversely affected. We need to do more to mitigate the negative effects of divorce.

To this end, MSF and the MinLaw are working together to ensure that the children's needs are well considered before divorce proceedings. Today, issues concerning the child are often only discussed during or at the end of the divorce process, as Mr Seah Kian Peng had mentioned yesterday. We will introduce a programme for those considering divorce. The programme will have the couple discuss their children's needs, understand the importance of positive co-parenting and be aware of the detrimental effects of a divorce.

For children whose parents are going through or have completed divorce proceedings, we will expand support programmes to help the children cope with their feelings and come to terms with the break-up. In addition, we will launch other programmes to help parents work through their emotions and

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overcome their co-parenting difficulties. MSF will also work with the social service sector to raise the capability and the capacity of our agencies that are handling divorce-related issues. We will share more details of these efforts later this year.

Being a single parent is tough. Mr Seah Kian Peng and Ms Lee Li Lian have asked for more support to be extended to single-parent households. Just to recap, last year, we extended childcare and infant care leave to unwed single mothers to support their caregiving responsibilities. They are also able to access financial assistance through ComCare, as well as other social assistance schemes and services. Like other Singaporean children, their kids also receive the MediSave grant for all newborns and subsidised rates for infant care, childcare and student care.

In terms of housing, single parents who are divorced or widowed can rent a flat under HDB's Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme while waiting for their flats to be ready. HDB has also set aside a number of flats for divorced and widowed parents applying for a flat a second time. Recently, Minister Khaw had reassured us that MND will look closely into their housing needs.

Another vulnerable group is the young and low-income families. We have the Home Ownership Plus Education (HOPE) Scheme to ensure they have a roof over their heads. This is a voluntary scheme that is catering to the low-income young families. More than 3,100 families have benefited from HOPE since 2004, 10 years ago.

We had reviewed and broadened the eligibility criteria for HOPE last year. The household income cap is now $1,700 instead of $1,500, and the individual income cap for those with post-Secondary education is now $1,200 instead of $1,000. Yesterday, Ms Mary Liew suggested that mothers older than 35 years should be considered for the HOPE programme. The qualifying age was set at 35 years old to encourage couples to join the scheme early. I want to assure Ms Mary Liew that there is an appeals committee to review the circumstances of those who missed the criteria narrowly. Just to give some numbers, about one in four successful appeals were women above 35 years old. HOPE has also been enhanced to better support the young, low-income families. The amount of conditional housing grant has been raised and educational bursaries and training incentives added to the scheme.

Let us now turn our attention to our senior citizens. While the sacrifices and contributions of our pioneer generation are being honoured, it is unfortunate

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that some seniors are neglected, abandoned or even abused by their family members. Dr Lily Neo spoke passionately about this yesterday. Even though the abuse is not widespread, numbers are seemingly small, it is our duty to protect the interests of the elderly, maintain our values of respect for them and take a hard line against perpetuators of elderly abuse.

To safeguard elderly parents, we have the Maintenance of Parents Act that lets parents claim maintenance from children who are able but unwilling to support them. We share Ms Tin Pei Ling's concerns that it is not always possible for an elderly to apply for maintenance for himself or herself. This is why social service professionals, especially those in hospitals, long-term care facilities and Social Service Offices (SSO), can refer cases to the Commissioner's Office. Likewise, any family member, caregivers, or person can apply to the Tribunal on behalf of an infirm elderly.

The Maintenance of Parents Act requires all new cases to be first referred to the Office of the Commissioner for the Maintenance of Parents. This is to foster conciliation as far as possible, before the cases go to the Tribunal, and I am glad to report that the Commissioner's Office has successfully resolved many cases. As a result, the number of applications to the Tribunal has fallen from a peak of 199 in 2009 to 63 last year, 2013. In addition, I am glad to note that two years ago, for 2012, more than 80% of the cases reached settlement through the Commissioner's Office, and this is 10% more than in 2010.

Dr Lily Neo asked about prevention and recourse for abused elderly. I would like to assure Dr Neo and all Members in this House that we take a hard stand against abusers of the elderly. Perpetrators can be charged under the Penal Code and under the Mental Capacity Act, ill treatment of a mentally incapacitated person is an offence. In cases where abuse stems from caregivers' stress and their inability to cope, there is a range of counselling and support services that they can turn to. During yesterday's Committee of Supply, MOH has outlined a variety of community and home-based services for caregivers.

To prevent abuse before it happens, we have the National Family Violence Networking System that has multiple touch points to detect and manage family violence. Professionals who work with the elderly are equipped with the skills to detect possible abuse and respond promptly. MSF and our community partners have stepped up public education efforts on family violence and improved the channels for assistance. The support services for affected seniors and their families include counselling, shelters and help in the application of

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Personal Protection Orders.

As more Singaporeans grow older, we need to keep a close watch to better protect the vulnerable elderly. And we all know, filial piety cannot be legislated. Like what Ms Tin has mentioned, filial piety cannot be forced. Ultimately, the responsibility lies with each of us to pass on the value of filial piety – 尊师重道, 孝顺父母 – to the next generation. Our children will imbibe our values and behave in the way we do towards the elderly – and towards us in the future.

Mdm Chair and hon Members, even as the Government and community weave our net of social support for the vulnerable members of our society, we must have families as the centrepiece of our tapestry. Without the strong foundations of healthy families, our network of support can be undermined by instability and insecurity. Families must remain a key pillar of our society. The institution of the family defends the nation with love, kinship and ties that bind the people together. In the same manner, we must protect the family from the pressures and stress of rapid changes brought about by globalisation and technological advancements mentioned by Mr Alex Yam yesterday. MSF's mission is to nurture strong families and that mandate is even more urgent and pertinent today.

As a mother of two young boys, I can identify with the sleepless nights that parents with young children go through, especially during the earlier years. I went through that when my boys were a lot younger, when they were toddlers. For our first boy, my husband and I took a crash course by reading many parenting books and pretty much learnt through trial and error. We wised up a bit when our second boy came along. Nonetheless, I can certainly understand how parenting sometimes can be viewed with a sense of anxiety by some parents.

We would like to assure all Members, parents and would-be parents that help is at hand. While practical experience is something that we all must gain "on-the-job" in this parenting job, we have available a wide range of parenting resources, education workshops and access to qualified family life educators. MSF has devoted $3 million over the next three years to boost family life education and develop family life educators and facilitators. This is part of FamilyMatters! which is a concerted effort from schools, workplaces, businesses and community partners to promote family life and create healthy families.

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Let me quickly share an example of a parent who has benefited from these parenting programmes funded by MSF. Diana started attending parenting programmes organised by Northland Primary School two years ago when her son was in Primary 1. She used to be very impatient and often screamed at her son whenever he misbehaved. After attending the parenting programmes, she felt that she is better equipped to understand and manage her son. She now enjoys a closer relationship with her young boy. Diana's positive experience with the parenting programmes also prompted her to become a school coordinator for the FamilyMatters! programme in Northland Primary School.

Mr Seah Kian Peng asked for an update on FamilyMatters!. MSF is working with MOE and the community to conduct two key parenting programmes, namely, the Positive Parenting Programme (PPP) and Signposts. These programmes provide additional support to address day-to-day parenting challenges. Starting next month, the pilot will take place in 40 Primary and Secondary schools over two years. We will share more details about this soon.

Besides parenting programmes in schools, families at various life stages can access a diversity of family life education programmes at their workplace or in their community. These range from marriage enrichment and parenting to coping with work and family demands – multitasking. As of last month, close to 600 schools, companies and community groups have partnered MSF to hold family life education programmes funded under FamilyMatters!. We would like to invite more to come onboard with us. This year is an opportune time to do so because it is the International Year of the Family. So, we call upon everyone to join in the family events and activities that we have lined up in the celebration of the International Year of the Family. Let us all make 2014 the year that we will remember for spending special moments with our families – people who matter most to us.

Let us take time out to honour and cherish our families with our time and presence and actions. Perhaps, I can encourage all Members in the House – we have to walk the talk – when we are having meals with our family, to put away our electronic devices and give our families the total attention that they so deserve.

Families are the heart of our nation. They are the lifeblood of our growth and future. Families matter to Singaporeans and we will make every effort – every effort – to help families thrive. We want to make Singapore a place where families are cherished. A home that families can call their own and a place where family aspirations, dreams and hopes are shared and celebrated as a vital part of our society. Together, we can become a more resilient, united and

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caring Singapore. Mdm Chair, please allow me to say a few words in Mandarin.

(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Family is the cornerstone of our society. Throughout our lives, the care and support from our family plays an important role. Although not everyone is born into a happy family, but I firmly believe that together, we can create happy families and a caring society.

During the Lunar New Year celebrations last month, in conjunction with the International Year of the Family, the organisers of River Hongbao organised the Family Night@River Hongbao for the first time. One social enterprise set up a stall selling creative Chinese New Year trinkets. The trinkets were made by Weng Chew Hao, a slightly autistic but highly creative 16-year-old. All the proceeds for the night would be used to help vulnerable groups with special needs.

Chew Hao's mother, Ms Chen Li Li, is a single mother who has to look after her child and make ends meet at the same time. Even then, she bravely took on life's challenges, and even came forward to help others. I understand that she even plans to open a new social enterprise – a café to provide job opportunities for single mothers in similar situations and children with special needs. Li Li's courage to overcome adversity is admirable and worth learning from.

I believe there are many warriors in life like Li Li and many compassionate individuals who have devoted themselves to charity. As a Singaporean, we must play our part to build a more compassionate and caring society.

Hence, in the new financial year, MSF will focus on three areas.

First, we will introduce more flexible, targeted and effective programmes to help the vulnerable. Second, we will provide more accessible, more comprehensive one-stop services. Third, we will invest more in human resource development, and increase investment to support the expansion of networks, so as to create a more comprehensive and professional social service sector.

As our nation develops, we will ensure that every Singaporean will have the opportunity to share and grow together with us. However, this cannot be

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achieved by MSF alone.

We must integrate everyone's effort and work together, in order to create a passionate and caring Singapore. Those who are more fortunate should come forward and help the vulnerable groups and families in our society.

We are heartened to see the support from various community partners. I would like to take this opportunity to urge more organisations and individuals to come forward to join us. I believe, as long as we put our hearts together, we can build a more united and caring society!

Madam, let me now continue with the second and third priorities for MSF's work in the year 2014. The second priority I want to talk about is our last-mile delivery. The third priority is establishing the conditions for our future success, in particular, our manpower development.

Let me start with the second priority. As mentioned, our job is to make sure we promote independence and not dependence. Our job is to promote resilience and not reliance. Our job is to promote ownership, not outsourcing of responsibilities.

Before I start, perhaps I could share two short stories with Members of this House to illustrate the kind of work and challenges we have in the sector. As a matter of policy, we do not reveal the names of people whom we help, so I will just call the first person Mdm Lim.

Mdm Lim is 70 years old. She used to stay in a rental flat. She has a disabled child, about 40 years old. She refused to stay in her flat because she believed that her rental flat was haunted. She changed her adult disabled child in public, causing quite a bit of embarrassment to the passers-by, but she did not think anything was wrong with it. The grassroots leaders and the Family Service Centre have, over the years, over many years, tried to get her into a new flat. HDB was willing to help her get a new flat, but she refused.

After many years of trying, the Family Service Centre (FSC), together with the grassroots leaders, finally managed to get the child into a home. But that was not the end of it. Mdm Lim did not believe that this was the best solution for the child. Mdm Lim continued to give a lot of trouble to the home who was trying to help to manage the child's condition. Even until today, we have no

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good resolution for this issue, not for Mdm Lim and her habits, her housing issue, not for the care of her child. Credit goes to the home, to the FSC, to the grassroots leaders – they are still trying.

The second story. Sometime back, about a year ago, I visited a family in an Interim Rental Housing flat. Hard luck story. Father used to be a taxi driver, fell into hard times, exhausted their savings, sold their flat, ended up without a home. Really difficult situation. The father was nursing his medical condition and trying to recover.

The sons – one still in Polytechnic, one still in Secondary school – were trying to complete their studies. The FSC and social workers tried to stabilise the situation. They managed to get the mother a temporary part-time job while continuing to provide financial and other forms of assistance to stabilise this situation. When the elder son entered the military service as part of his NS duties, he was a very sensible man. He decided that perhaps he should sign on as a regular to alleviate the burden of his family.

Over the course of six months to a year, the family managed to get out of the Interim Rental Housing that they were in. I would not claim credit for my social workers nor the FSCs. I think what made the difference was the single-minded determination of the family to get out of the situation that they were in. A very sensible young man; both sons are very sensible – I have spoken to them. The father was very determined to try to recuperate and change his lifestyle. The mother worked very hard. It is perhaps a small success.

These few stories just go to show the kind of challenges that we have to deal with in many of the cases that we come across. Very often, as Ms Denise Phua has said, some people will post something on the Internet or a story may come out in the evening newspaper and so forth. Let me assure all Members of this House that my Ministry chases up on each and every story, even though it is not appropriate for us to reveal their private circumstances or the kind of help that they have been getting.

Occasionally, my social workers may get frustrated and ask me why they cannot talk about their cases in public. Some of them are being helped, but they provide a different story. Some of them have very complicated situations which may not be alleviated in the short term. Our policy has never been to reveal names publicly, but our job is to continue to help these people as much as we can, for them to achieve independence, and not dependence. For them to be resilient, and not to grow their reliance. For the community and the family to

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own the problem and challenges together, and not to outsource to somebody else. This is the reason why we have set up the Social Services Offices (SSOs) across the entire island. We want to provide more integrated services, and we want to provide more localised services.

Mr Seah Kian Peng, Mr Zainal Sapari and Dr Lily Neo asked about the progress of the SSOs. Since the announcement last year, to date, we have 10 SSOs fully functioning across the entire island. We will have four more by the middle of this year in Ang Mo Kio, Sengkang, Bedok and Queenstown, and we will continue to roll out the rest of the network by end 2015.

One of the first thing that all the SSOs do when they go into the community is to walk the community, map out all the services in the community, identify the gaps in the community, identify the partners in the community. For some Members, you may have attended our sessions already where we call upon everybody from the community to come together, to sit down together, to do something very simple – get to know each other. Get to know each other to know the kind of services in the community, and to get to know the challenges in the community, so that we will be able to sit down as one community to resolve these challenges.

Dr Lily Neo would have an example. In Jalan Kukoh and Jalan Minyak, the officers from the SSOs, together with the partners, walked day and night – and I mean day and night – to find out the challenges in the community. My officers told me that they needed youth guidance services. I asked them how did they know. They told me, "I know, because for the last few nights, from 12 midnight to four to five o'clock, I was there. I saw a number of youths hanging out and I talked to them and I know what is troubling them."

This is the kind of thing that we want to see in our SSO officers, to have in them, within them the DNA to look at the local issues and to develop the customised solutions. With that, they are able to mobilise the Police, grassroots leaders and the VWOs to come together to tailor solutions to the local community. We will do that, and we will do more. Because for each community, we will need to get in there, spend time to find out the unique needs to develop those unique solutions. This is the first thing about the localised delivery.

The second thing is about integration in delivery. As many Members have mentioned, it is not just the SSOs, the agencies or VWOs working together. We all need to work together. One of the things that the SSO officers will do regularly and have already started in those communities they are in, is to do the

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integrated case management conference, weekly and, as necessary, to talk about all the complex cases like the one that I have shared earlier. So that different agencies can come together to share how they are helping those respective cases, and where we can do better. As Ms Denise Phua said, "so that nobody will be over served, underserved or not served", so that each and every case will get the attention necessary from the SSOs, the community, VWOs and FSCs.

We will continue to do more of this and I thank all the Members for your support, because without your support, we will never be able to bring together all the stakeholders in the community to develop the localised solutions, and to deliver the integrated service for the many, many complex cases that are residing within our respective communities. But we can still do better.

We are working on a database, a common database. We hope to get data with a pilot by next year, and progressively over the many years to come. We will input the data and the case histories for all the families in it. Why are we doing this? We are doing this for a very simple reason. For the people looking for help, they just need to tell their story once. For the people providing the help, they know what help has been given to the families or the individuals across the entire time span. No different from the medical history that we get when we see a doctor. So that in the future, when someone goes and sees a social service professional, they, too, will have their equivalent social history record available to them. This will make it more efficient for us.

I must moderate expectations. We have many years of case files in many of the FSCs and SSOs. For those of you who have visited our FSCs, you know that sometimes they look like Chinese medicine shops with rows and rows of files from the many cases that they are handling. We will progressively computerise this to make the data available to all those who are providing help. There is much work that we need to do.

In the meantime, may I humbly ask Members of the House: do not judge any of these families in trouble when you see a picture in the newspaper or on the Internet. Very often, there are very complicated stories behind each and every story, each and every case. Very often, the social workers and the community have been working quietly behind the scenes, helping these families in need without fanfare. Very often, the social workers might get discouraged when people start pointing fingers, asking if they had done enough. We would

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always like to do more and do better but we will all do this together.

I spoke about the vulnerable families and there are some very hardcore cases that we are handling in our society, cases that are even more complex than the two that I have mentioned to you earlier. For this year, we are going to invest in a Vulnerable Families Pilot Programme. The numbers may not be big but they do take up disproportionate amount of resources in the social service sector.

We are going to focus our attention on the first pilot of 500 families. We are going to bring together the various Government agencies to do integrated case management, as suggested by some Members. Each agency, whether is it the HDB, MOE, MOH or others, they might just miss the qualifying criteria. But we want to come together, so that we know when we need to exercise a bit more flexibility in the judgement.

We want to have dedicated social workers to these families to walk those years with them, because it will take us many, many years to solve – I would not even say solve – manage some of these challenges. Progressively, as we take on the hardest cases, it will free up resources for us to take on yet more cases. We are going to change the way we want to tackle some of these most difficult cases in society. I hope that I will have Members' support for us to do this; I will urge patience because these are not cases that we can overcome in a day or two.

There is a particular gap that we want to work on this year. Whenever I talk about social service, I talk about the SSOs, I talk about the FSCs and I talk about the institutional homes run by MSF. But there is one more, one more important ring in the entire social service chain, and that is the community. We need more organised community partners that can serve as the first line of defence to pick up cases which might be vulnerable and alert the SSOs, FSCs and so forth before the families get into trouble. We also need community organisations that can serve as a vehicle for families to be reintegrated back into the community. We need to grow this community ability systematically.

I am happy to note that some of the communities are already starting to do this. For example, there is this group called "Friends in Charity" started informally by about 40 friends, helping the less privileged quietly since 2005, regularly distributing food, giving financial assistance, providing mentorship to children and families in Banda Street. Sometimes, they organised outings and so forth. But we need many more, many more in the communities that can work

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in partnership with the SSOs, FSCs and so forth.

Mr Seah Kian Peng suggested why do we not try having paid volunteers. To many, this sounds like an oxymoron – paid volunteers. Okay, let us not call it that. Let us try a different way. Indeed, we have started a pilot, also at Jalan Minyak. It was the programme called "Caring Assistance from Neighbour (CAN) Programme", an initiative between MSF and the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC), where we get the elderly who are still mobile to visit other elderly to remind them to take their medicine and to engage them, to befriend them.

We also know that in Northeast Community Development Council (CDC), Mayor Teo Ser Luck has started a programme whereby families in need come not just to get the cash handout but also to do some simple tasks for the community. It is not done in exchange. It is done because they want to give the families being helped a sense of ownership, pride and dignity, that they are not just taking handouts. I think we can push further on these ideas, and MSF will be happy to work with Members and their respective communities to champion such ideas. Madam, if I may have your permission to make some remarks in Malay.

I first want to congratulate the Minister – I am very heartened by all the positive developments that have taken place and the approach that is being taken to address all these social needs both upstream and downstream.

A few clarifications for the Minister. First, he shared about some incidents that are posted on various websites or reported in the news. He mentioned that as a policy, MSF does not reveal details. I can understand the sensitivity. But at the same time, I think when we adopt this approach, it is very unfair to all the social workers and the good work that the Ministry and various FSCs are doing. There must be a way to correct some of these wrong perceptions and inaccuracies because the Members in this House may understand the wrong perceptions. But the ill-will that is created through such reporting makes it very tough and creates a wrong impression for the general public. So, I hope the Minister could rethink and review this, selectively.

The second clarification is on single parents: Parliamentary Secretary Low Yen Ling mentioned that some progress has been made. Indeed, there are several, but I would like to just push the envelope further and ask, particularly for the single, unwed parents or parents who are not married. There have been some adjustments made but whether we could push the envelope further, that for those who have a child, can we review some of the housing schemes? Also, could some of the financial tax and reliefs be accorded to them? So, I hope the Minister could address that.

Finally, my third clarification is still on parents who are going through divorce. As I mentioned in my earlier cut, right now, counselling and mediation are compulsory for those who have a child aged 14 and below, I suggested —

Yes. I wonder if MSF could review this and take up my suggestion to bring it up to age 18.

Madam, I thank Mr Seah Kian Peng for his clarifications. On the first issue, I think there is no easy solution to this. And I would like to follow up with what Ms Denise Phua mentioned yesterday. Those who genuinely want to help – never mind if they post the story on the Internet or what not – we will be most happy to work with them. But for those with other reasons why they want to do such things, it is always difficult.

On my part and on my Ministry's part, we are committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of the respective cases that we are handling. So, yes, sometimes we do take the flak but we would rather take the flak than sacrifice the confidentiality of the beneficiaries whom we are helping. Maybe this is part and parcel of our job.

But I just want to reassure the House that if you come across any case, whether it is on the Internet or in the newspapers, we will chase up on the case. Very often, these are cases which we have been dealing with for many years. The example that I gave you just now is more than eight years, and we are still trying to help him.

On the second issue, I just want to reassure Mr Seah Kian Peng that MND has very kindly moved on the singles issue. Unwed single mums with children are now eligible to apply for a flat very much as any other singles. For specific cases where the circumstances are exceptional, I am sure the Minister for National Development will look at it with compassion and assess it, as he would do in his usual way.

For financial support, our policy is to never discriminate the child because of the parents' marital status. For all things that we give to the Singaporean child, it will be the same. But there are other packages that incentivise or help promote family formation and those have a separate policy objective. From the child's perspective, we want to be fair to the child. I understand that the child is innocent and there is no reason for us to discriminate against the child.

We will take note of the suggestions on divorce counselling, whether we should push up the age limit. We have just started this; let us take a step at a time and see if it works well and then whether there is a further need for us to raise the age. I would just want to say that adults can often get into trouble, disagree, but let us always remember the child who is always at the centre,

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caught in between, powerless to dictate terms or even to share his or her perspective. So, for all parents, I always urge them to always put the child's interests at heart, no matter what difficulties there may be between the adults.

I want to congratulate the team in MSF for the wonderful work that is being done. Two clarifications. One, about families of adults, especially adults with moderate to severe disabilities. I was wondering if the Ministry could clarify, often these families are very helpless, frustrated, anxious and worried. How can we help these families in a more structured way to help themselves? Perhaps, help them do mapping with an end in mind; how to help these adults reach financial independence, physical well-being, social well-being and continued education as well. So, I was wondering if there are some more structured ways to do so or if there are plans to do so.

And the second clarification is really about social service delivery. I understand now from what Minister has shared, the SSOs play a very pivotal and central role in the whole social service landscape. Can Minister clarify what the roles of the other players that hitherto have been very active as well, for example, the CDCs, FSCs, People's Association (PA), grassroots volunteers and other individuals and so forth? How do we structure it such that, like the Minister said, we are sharing the same goal and so that people are not over served, underserved or not served at all?

Madam, on the first issue of adult disability, let me say that I know and I agree that we have a gap, especially for the moderate to severe disability group. In the last two years, through the Member's efforts and the efforts of many of the VWOs – we have taken a step in that direction by tackling the mild to moderate adult disability group first. We are very lacking in our support and expertise to manage this group. This is something that we want to grow so that we can provide better support for the families with adult disability, especially the severe to the moderate ones.

We have taken a step in that direction by going in to the moderate to mild group first because, admittedly, that is easier and we need to build up our capacity and capability. Today, we do not yet have enough specialists in this area but we are committed to expand the group.

On the second issue about the SSOs' role versus FSCs and grassroots leaders (GRLs), maybe the best way that I can illustrate this is what I usually say at some of the sharing sessions with the communities. Imagine a five-ring

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Olympic ring in the social service chain. The first ring is a community ring. The community is the first line of support, the first line of detection. This is where we want to mobilise more community groups to provide that integration. This is where PA, this is where CDCs, and many other kind-hearted individuals come in because they mobilise the community support group. This community support group is important not just for the social service. In time to come, this community support structure will have to extend to taking care of our elderly and even some of the mentally unstable partners in our community. So, this is a community group. The PA, CDCs and GRLs are working hard on this.

The second ring is the SSOs. The SSOs deal with the more straightforward cases and, very often, financial cases. But the SSOs are also the first port of call for many of these families with emerging issues. The SSOs will be able to link up the families in need with the more specialised agencies to do intervention work. The SSOs will be the first one to do the triage in this entire system.

The third ring is the Family Service Centres (FSCs). They are staffed with many professional social workers and counsellors. They do social work intervention for many of the complex cases. Together with the SSOs, they sit down together with the agencies, the Government agencies, to work out each and every respective case management for the families in need; from HDB to MOE to MOM for jobs and so forth because their job is to provide that holistic and integrated support. So, between the SSOs and the FSCs – especially the FSCs – they will provide the specific intervention.

The fourth ring is the specialised FSCs. There are some specialised FSCs that deal with specialties or niche areas, for example, elderly abuse, gambling addiction, or PAVE for family violence. These are the specialised FSCs that work beyond the teamwork of the normal FSCs. Today, we have about 43 FSCs. We have a handful of FSCs that specialise in some of these areas: TRANS Safe Centre, PAVE and Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society for gambling addiction.

The last ring represents the institutions. These are the homes – the destitute homes and the juvenile homes – that are run by the Government as part of our statutory duties. So, there are five rings of intervention – from the first line of support at the community, to the SSOs doing the simple intervention. SSOs are not staffed with all social workers; many of them are social assistance professionals. Then, we have the FSCs to provide social service intervention; next, we have the specialised FSCs looking after family violence, gambling, elderly abuse and so forth. And then there is the fifth ring, which represents the institutional homes that look after cases like the destitute, child abuse and so

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forth.

That is not the end of the social service chain because whoever ends up at the institutions and homes, they need to be re-integrated back into the community, which is why the community receptacle is so important for us to complete this loop.

I hope I have broadly and simply explained the roles played by the different agencies across the entire social service chain.

Thank you, Madam. I have two clarifications for the Minister. Firstly, I agree with the Minister mentioning that the SSO officers need to have a helping DNA in them. Nevertheless, I believe that besides DNA, expertise is also a vital component. I would like to know from the Minister whether the officers at the SSOs are social work trained. If yes, what is the proportion of social-work trained to non-social-work trained officers at the SSOs?

Secondly, in my cut, I had called on MSF to initiate a joint collaboration effort with HDB, in particular, the Credit Operations Department, in identifying high-risk families from being homeless and work towards drafting preventive measures. Will the MSF look into it?

Madam, let me say that not all officers in the SSOs are social work trained. SSO officers go through our in-house training to provide the basic level of social assistance and care. Some of my SSO officers are social work trained, for example, the General Manager of the SSO at Chua Chu Kang. She is social work trained. We have different people with different capabilities in the SSOs.

On the Member's second suggestion, indeed, this has already been done. The upstream work with the HDB to make sure that we get alerted to those cases whereby the families are in arrears for a prolonged period, and we can render them the assistance before they run into deeper trouble.

Thank you, Mdm Chair. Two clarifications for the Minister, please. May I ask the Minister whether he will take up my suggestion to better assist lower-income families to help themselves by

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adopting the hands-on approach, to micromanage each case in order to find long-term solutions for each family, especially young families?

On my second clarification, the Minister earlier said that there will be assistance for retirees who are on subsistence living due to very low CPF payouts, and that now this group will be eligible for Public Assistance or ComCare. I would like to thank the Minister for that. May I ask the Minister whether he knows the number of such cases that had been rejected by CDCs or MSF for the past few years, as I had quite a few in my ward, and whether such cases now can be recalled to give them the due assistance?

Madam, the answer to Dr Lily Neo's first question is yes, definitely, which is why we started the vulnerable families pilot, which is why we started the SSOs. As the Member has said, we want each case to be managed according to their needs. What the Member has also mentioned very importantly is this: it is not just the cash payout that is important. What is most important is to solve the underlying issues: Is it one of holding down a job? Is it one of health issue? Housing issue? Education? And so forth.

This is the reason why the SSO has taken upon itself to do the case management for the community. This is the reason why we want to start the vulnerable families pilot with 500 families as the pilot in the first place to allow the different agencies, including MND, MOE, Police and so forth, to come together to look at the specific issues faced by the individual or family; to help them stabilise their situation, and then they move out from there. Our long-term goal is not to have more and more people on the ComCare scheme. Our long-term goal is to have ComCare act as a bridge for them to get to a better future.

On the second issue: that has already been ongoing for a very long while. First and foremost, we see whether the person qualifies for public assistance. If the person qualifies for Public Assistance and if the person has CPF, we will then just top up the difference. If the person does not qualify for Public Assistance, we will then look into why they did not qualify for Public Assistance. Is it because they have family support? Or is it that they have other sources of income?

We will look through the cases, but one of the very difficult challenges that we always face in such issues is that they do have what we call family support in the traditional sense. That is, they have children; they have people who are family members who are able to help them. But very often, there is a breakdown in the family relationship. Very often, before we can even do that handout, we

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have to mediate and try to get the family members to come and join us in this work. Very often, sadly, we are not always successful to get the family to come and play their part.

For some of these cases, we have no choice but to come in to help. Our ultimate aim is not for these family members to outsource their responsibilities to someone else but to help the family to reconcile, so that they can help take care of each other. I am sure many Members will know that this is very challenging work. Sometimes, we run a risk. Because we are helping and these very unfilial family members know that we are helping, they harden their hearts. It is a very difficult thing, but it requires a fine balance of judgement in how best to help these families in need.

Thank you, Madam. I have two areas of clarifications. The first is that I have not gotten any answers for my Budget speech and COS cut on KiFAS. I want to know exactly how many new centres have we added to the schemes. Is it only the five MOE kindergartens added to the 235 already-qualified PCF centres? That is 240 out of 500 existing centres.

Previous KiFAS qualifying criteria required operators to be non-religious, non-racial, non-profit, and with more than $5 million paid-up capital. Has this changed, because the three new anchor operators include one Christian non-profit organisation and two private operators? Can religious, racial non-profit organisations and private operators be included under the new KiFAS consideration? What are MSF's new criteria for selecting eligibility? I did not see that there was any call for new players recently.

The second area of clarification is in student care. The Minister said that the childcare of today will be the student care of tomorrow. I wish we could wait till tomorrow, but the fact is many of the childcare users have already graduated to become the users for student care, and the demand has far outstripped the supply. Many of the large capacity centres in schools are already full —

What is the timeline that MOE and MSF have for finalising the plans, and whether there will be, within the plans, grants for fees, like in childcare, because it is financially unattractive to run student care?

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Madam, on the first question by Mr Yee on KiFAS, all new anchor operators are eligible for this. They are in the process of setting up their centres and we will have to see how many centres they are able to set up and will qualify.

Let me go back to a more fundamental point about how we give out subsidies and for what reasons. That is even more important. All subsidies are public money. We can only give out subsidies and use public money if we can assure ourselves of a few things, and we need to put in place these before we give out the subsidies.

One, the subsidies should be targeted at those most in need of help. Two, the subsidies should not lead to a situation of price escalation without a corresponding change in quality. Three, there must be some assurance of the quality standards of the institutions that enjoy the subsidies. These form our basic philosophy.

Will we expand the scheme? Let us do it carefully. Let us make sure that whoever we give the subsidies to – both in terms of operators and in terms of the parents – meet those criteria that I have just suggested.

One, it is targeted at those who are most in need of help, not just to get the next better, or perceived to be better, course for our children. Two, it must not lead to an issue of price escalation without a corresponding quality increase. Three, there must be some quality assurance. All anchor operators who pass our quality assurance will be entitled to join the scheme. I have gotten feedback from some anchor operators that they will be expanding the number of centres that provide such services. I welcome that. But I will need to put in place that quality framework and ensure that the subsidies are well used and well targeted.

The second thing about student care, the Minister for Education has already announced the plan. We all want to do it faster, but we must not compromise the quality of care for our students. As we expand the number of student care places, we must correspondingly look at the number of teachers and volunteers that we can mobilise to do this.

It is a big change that we have undergone in the last five to 10 years. As I have mentioned, five years ago, it was one in six families that did not have extensive family support. Five years later, one in three. Five more years later, one in two. Yes, we will do our best to meet this demand. But I must caution that it is not a one-for-one translation from childcare to student care. It is not a

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one-for-one demand because some people when they finish childcare and go to Primary school, there may be other alternative arrangements. Yet, there will be other people who may need new arrangements. So, it is not a one-for-one demand.

I can assure Mr Yee Jenn Jong that the Minister for Education and I are both looking very closely at this. Moving forward, we want to put in place a structured and quality framework for student care services, so that we can give our parents peace of mind when they put their children in the centre.

On the first clarification, some of these modules will be incorporated into the continuing professional development courses that many of the childcare professionals go to. I have consulted many of the operators and professionals in the sector. In the past, we focused our professional development on how to teach better and how to relate to the child better. But the Member is right. Many of them have given feedback that these are necessary, but we need to go even one step further. That one step further is to provide the emotional support and the counselling skills for the childcare service professionals, to get the centre's support for them to manage some of these stresses.

One of the biggest challenges that they have highlighted to me is not the stress dealing with the children. It is the stress managing a small group of parents that takes up a disproportionate amount of their time. Even parent management skills, parent-teacher relationship building, are subjects that we will incorporate into the new curriculum for our teachers.

On the second point about SPARK, yes, indeed, that is the reason why we wanted to simplify the entire framework. Over time, as we increase the capacity

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in the sector, we will be able to more clearly delineate the teaching track from the professional management track. Not very different from what MOE has done over all these years with more resources. Teachers are able to focus on the teaching and, yet, we have other people to complement their work in terms of administration, quality control and so forth. Those will be the things that we will be working on in the coming years.

Thank you, Mdm Chair. First, I would like to thank Minister and all his staff for all the really good work that MSF has done. I have seen marked progress, especially the whole-of-Government way of social service delivery. I want to also thank him for the work in the childcare sector. That has really helped my residents, but we need to do more. Just a few quick questions.

First, the Minister talked about the upgrade in professionalisation of people in the social services. I think that is really something that is necessary and should be urgently conducted. But he mentioned that this will apply to all the social workers in the VWOs. I am wondering whether this should also be extended to organisations that are registered as not-for-profit, but not necessarily VWOs, or under ROS, or registered as charity. So, would this upgrade and professionalisation of services extend to not-for-profit organisations not registered as charity?

Second, I think a couple of years ago, he also announced that the $100 million IT upgrade —

Madam, three quick answers. On the first question about extension to the professionals – anyone who is involved in the social service profession will qualify. We look at the social service professionals, not the organisation that they come from. So, it is the social service professionals. Two, on the IT upgrade. Our first phase of focus is on building the database for the people involved in social work per se. I am not sure about the non-profit organisations that are not involved in social work. So, I think they probably will not have that in the first phase, because the first phase is really to build up something akin to MOH's medical records, for us to provide more integrated help to the people who require social services. Third, yes, we agree that for all special needs people, we have to deal with them as individuals, and we have to look at each and every of their abilities to see how best we can help them. And I always remember this word that one late special needs person told me: "Don't look at people with disability – spelt 'disability'. Look at them with ‘this ability'." Because of that, we are able to appreciate what they can do and not what they cannot do.