Debated in Parliament on 13 Mar 2013.
Madam, I beg to move, "That the total sum to be allocated for Head I of the Estimates be reduced by $100".
There is a sense of disquiet in Singapore as we age. Increasingly, the notion of "security" is not just a matter of finance, but a basic matter of a roof over our heads, food and mobility. Looming over this is the idea of healthcare costs.
Today I ask the Minister to do even more and make our social services more secure and more comprehensive than ever; to take on the lens of a user point of view and include all aspects, be it health, infrastructure, social services as part of a larger social safety net.
In the past, we have relied on the notion of "many helping hands" and this squares with our national values, but it is also a matter of financial tightness on the part of Government. Given our current financial status, can we afford for the Government to be an even larger helping hand?
This hand should first be extended to vulnerable families – families with breadwinners in jail, single parents and also single income families. Can we have targeted assistance for each of such family groups? Can we review and enhance existing schemes to see if more can be provided for these groups? In particular, I would like to ask also for the extension of maternity leave for single mothers. I have in the past championed the cause of not just fathers but also single mothers. So, over the course of my two terms here in Parliament, I have made the case that they should be thought of as mothers first, and singles second, if at all. I ask the Minister to consider these family units as legitimate calls on our national resources and, indeed, to make more provisions for them
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than usual families because of their extra needs.
Madam, I would like to move on to the issue of the ageing population. While the Ministry has various schemes in place for the needy, there are some families who may have additional specialised needs such as healthcare or hygiene consumables, and these are not covered by the general level of social assistance provided.
Most schemes have medical bill assistance as part of the package, but schemes that specifically address healthcare needs, there are only a few. Even amongst these schemes, there are a few which I know of like the General Assistance Fund administered by Northeast CDC, and also the EyeWear @ South West administered by South West CDC. These seem to provide some kind of help for healthcare and medical consumables. These healthcare needs are most acute for the elderly – and I think in our usual efficient manner, we have classified these needs under primary healthcare.
Madam, I wish to ask how MSF intends to cater to the needs of such vulnerable groups more effectively. Also beyond cash schemes, can these help include some discretionary one-off aid, one-off consumables? There is significant overlap between the social and primary healthcare needs, especially among the elderly.
I know the good work that the AIC is doing – integrating healthcare amongst the acute, to preventive spectrum, and working with VWOs. Although the care for the elderly does take up a large part of this work, I believe that in the future, the work of AIC will become even more important as the need for good primary health care increases. This work cannot be easy.
Still, I will add another challenge – integration is already difficult enough within the MOH, but to ask for integration with another ministry, that is a tall order. But here is a taller one – what about integration with the MND as well? I will elaborate on the need for integrated care delivery in another cut.
For now, I would like to say this: last year, the Ministry announced the plans to ramp up services to enable the elderly to age-in-place through community and home-based care. In addition, the Ministry is also working on the recommendations of the Enabling Masterplan for persons with disabilities. For
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now, I wish to ask on the progress of the Enabling Masterplan to date.
Even with the rollout of the plans, some parents with adult children with disabilities have expressed their anxieties over a lack of adult care services for their children. I wish to ask for the Ministry's plans in this area. As I know, although families of persons with disabilities can benefit from the Foreign Domestic Worker (FDW) Concession Scheme to employ FDWs to take care of them full time, for those families who are still unable to employ FDWs or maids, there is no help for them. There are still no assisted living facilities for persons with disabilities, or the option of home-based care for these families.
Currently, there are seven adult disability homes, three adult disability hostels and 19 day activity centres. Yet, even so, there is still a lack of capacity at all these existing centres.
For this group, can we extend better support for adults with disabilities through the provision of more places in adult disability homes and day activity centres? With the ageing population and longer life expectancies of persons with disabilities, demand for adult care services will increase greatly in time to come.
[Deputy Speaker (Mr Charles Chong) in the Chair]
In terms of transport, I wish to compliment the efforts of the MOT in improving the accessibility of all public buses, MRTs, as well as public buildings and facilities. I know also that the Caring Fleet and Handicap Welfare Association have been providing specialised and dedicated accessible transportation for wheelchair-users and persons with limited mobility. Can we do more to further improve the transport infrastructure and also to have more wheelchair-accessible taxi fleet that are geographically based to cater and better serve such people?
All in, there is still much scope for us to further improve our social safety net in terms of both coverage and scope but also making it more flexible. I hope some of the ideas and the suggestions I have outlined here can be taken up by the Ministry.
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Mr Chairman, there is a pressing shortage of childcare and infant-care centres now. In order to get more housewives to join our tight labour market, this shortage needs urgent fixing. For young couples, the availability of good childcare and infant-care centres is an important factor in their considerations about starting to have children. Many families need to have the dual incomes and many young career women do not want to give up their career advancement opportunities. Availability of good childcare facilities is, therefore, crucial toward better TFRs. While I understand there is a tremendous shortage for childcare staff, I hope MSF can help alleviate the situation as a matter of urgency. May I ask the Minister how short are we over the demand for childcare centres? How confident is the Minister on ensuring a sufficient supply of them and over what sort of timeline will the supply be met?
Many parents have complained that private childcare centres are very expensive. Some have lamented that fees charged by privately-run centres got even higher in spite of the increment of Government childcare subsidy. May I ask the Minister if he will consider regulating prices charged by privately-run childcare centres in lieu of Government subsidies?
Many of the lowest income families are in chronic need of financial assistance because only one parent is earning. Very often that parent can only earn low wages and still need to support two or more children. There is a need to assist such families holistically on a more permanent basis. Will the Minister provide a special scheme targeted at assisting these families? Could assistance be given to pair the mothers in these families for jobs with childcare placement? Could such families be offered job-upgrading opportunities to meet the needs of their children?
I beseech MSF to assist children from these lowest income families. Help in this area is still deficient and we need special intervention and more resources to improve their predicament. Let us give them a better start in life and a better chance for social mobility. These children and their families need assistance through personal guidance and in a hands-on approach. Daily supervision of these children with their school-work, basic necessities, activities and hobbies can be provided for them after school. It will be ideal to have centres in the community near their homes and have them cared for by committed staff. Social workers can assist such families with the intention of helping them achieve more conducive home environment. May I ask the Minister on the availability of social workers and will a shortage of them be
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relieved anytime soon?
As the number of elderly in our population is increasing, may I ask the Minister to consider providing facilities or centres that enable healthy community living? Such facilities will enable the elderly to live independently and healthily in the community for as long as possible. Such facilities would also allow the elderly themselves to bond and care for each other. This is useful especially when one of their buddies should become frail. The idea of self-help is an untapped extra resource in the community. There should, of course, be support from voluntary group organisations and grassroots organisations for such facilities as well. Will the Ministry set up more Senior Activity Centres? Are there plans to build respite centres enabling day-care for those with mobility difficulties and community rehabilitative centres for those who are discharged from the community homes needing some rehabilitation supervision.
I applaud MSF for the new enhancements in the PA scheme this month. The monthly increment of $50 will address the higher cost of living. The second tier and third tier assistance are most welcomed. The discretionary assistance is timely and far-sighted in view of our ageing population. We can expect more elderly living longer and therefore more of them having medical conditions. This discretionary assistance will enable many more to stay in their own homes, with assisted living equipment, for as long as possible despite their medical conditions.
The policy for the PA scheme enhancements was well thought out to reach the recipients who have many variable needs. It is a not the usual one-size-fits-all kind of policy as rightly it should be. I hope many more of our new policies can be similarly designed to better target the end users. My concern is how is the Minister ensuring that the PA recipients get to receive the new secondary and discretionary assistance? Many of them will not be well informed or know how to go about them. This will help reduce the dependence on institutional care and is good for both MOH and MSF.
May I ask the Minister whether he will also review other assistance schemes under MSF, the Hope scheme for instance, to have new enhancements as well?
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Chairman, I am heartened by the move to increase the financial aid to Public Assistance beneficiaries. At the same time this leads me to ponder on how much one would really need to lead a decent life in Singapore. During the Budget Debate, my parliamentary colleague, Ms Irene Ng, proposed the idea of a living wage. I would like to support the call.
What would the Ministry consider as a living wage in Singapore? In UK, based on information from the official website of UK's Living Wage Foundation, living wage is an hourly rate set independently and updated annually. It is calculated according to the basic cost of living in UK. In some countries, a living wage would be a reasonable salary a person could earn in a 44-hour work week to meet the basic necessities of living.
In UK as well, employers are encouraged to pay the living wage on a voluntary basis. Studies have shown that paying the living wage is good for business, good for the individual and good for society. According to an independent study to look at the business benefits of implementing a Living Wage policy, it showed that more than 80% of employers acknowledged that the Living Wage had improved the quality of work of their staff. From the individual point of view, the Living Wage affords people the opportunity to provide for themselves and their families. Studies also showed that 75% of employees reported increases in work quality as a result of receiving the Living Wage.
Knowing what a living wage is in Singapore would be useful as a benchmark to evaluate our public assistance programme. With WCS, this is also a good opportunity for employers to pay a living wage given the benefits and possibly, an improvement in work productivity.
Hence, I would like to propose for MSF to commission a study to look at determining a living wage in Singapore.
Mr Chair, poverty is growing in Singapore. There is a widening income gap. And there are many who are in fact getting poorer, and struggling to get by.
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According to my analysis of MOM's statistics, real median wages of the cleaners and labourers declined by 35% from 2000 to 2011; while those of service and sales workers declined by 15%. When some people are so poor that they and their children cannot have three decent meals a day, it is a scandal because, at the same time, Singapore has one of the highest density of millionaires in the world –188,000 millionaire households by one estimate.
If one listens to stories of the poor, one would find that in an overwhelming number of cases, the poor do not deserve their plight. Life's circumstances seem to conspire to make their lives so hard that it is near impossible to get by. Many poor families face multiple challenges, including father in jail, children with disabilities and numerous health issues, often quite serious.
What then is our response? Do we not have plenty of Government schemes and charities to help these people? Yes, we do. In fact, we can qualify as a welfare state by the number of schemes we have. But in outcomes and impact, that is where we are falling very short. Our schemes are a bit like Panadol – a painkiller that just helps to numb the pain a little, but does not help solve the root issues.
Let me list four issues. First, we do not know the size of the problem. We lack in-depth studies on the ground realities of the poor. We tend to only have information on incomes, aggregated and cross-sectional, which masks differences in circumstances, changes across time and clarity on needs. We need much better data on the state of poverty, including how poor households cope or do not cope with limited resources, and how aid is perceived and used.
We need to establish poverty thresholds for households with different circumstances in order to be more targeted in our interventions. These thresholds should be based on what constitutes a full basket of essentials, plus additional expenditure that will help families get out of poverty. We need proper evaluation on what schemes work and do not work. If we care enough, we would want to know more.
Secondly, we tend to take away the dignity of the person in helping families in need. We treat the poor's problems like medical ones, to be treated by professionals. Inadvertently, we reinforce the inadequacies of the poor. The aid application process makes getting aid difficult – with many documents to complete and families often having to deplete their savings first. Too often, help is "too little, too late". Dignity also prevents genuine cases from coming forward, while those stepping forward feel they have to beg for small amounts. The latter
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lose their dignity, which once lost, simply makes them resigned to gaming the system. We must do more to preserve the self-esteem, dignity and confidence of the poor.
Thirdly, we are not holistic in our approach. The poor often require continued emotional support and healing in the midst of their many stressors. They need help on multiple fronts at home and at work. They need a comprehensive plan that conceptualises how they could be more self-reliant and how they can break their cycle of poverty. Our aid schemes look at income levels as a cut-off; but we also have to look at needs. Above all, we must deal with the root causes of poverty, and not just the symptoms.
Fourthly, we under-estimate the strengths of the poor and the community around them. The way we view the poor is often patronising and demeaning. The poor are no different from the rest of us. They want the best for themselves and their families. And most want to count on themselves and their hard work.
We must redesign our interventions systems to take a strengths-based perspective that uses personal strengths to aid in the recovery and empowerment of each poor person. The poor do not want to be stigmatised as helpless victims. Those of us working with them are partners, journeying with them. We aim to put the power back to each individual and family, and make them experts in their lives. We should consult them as to what they want for themselves, and give them a voice so that they can speak for themselves.
Partnering the poor would also require mobilising the assets in the community to support the work. We need greater community ownership for poverty and build up the social capital of the poor, because studies have shown that their networks are typically weaker than most.
In short, we need new paradigms to tackle poverty and to improve inter-generational social mobility. These new paradigms will help the poor get out of poverty, and not just to get by.
Sir, I will use the term "disability" interchangeably with the term "special needs", since "disability" is a
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historical label that many people are still using. I thank the Minister for commissioning and launching the second five-year Enabling Masterplan for the Disabled. The disability scene has certainly been more vibrant and responsive compared to 10 years ago when there were no masterplans of such scope and depth.
I wish to raise four points for Minister's consideration and response.
First, progress of the Enabling Master Plan. Many recommendations were made in the 2012-2016 Enabling Master Plan. But according to recent media report, many persons with disabilities and their families do not appear to know much about the Enabling Master Plan and how they can be helped. I would like to ask Minister if there had been any change in the mode and pace of communicating and updating this community since the last Plan expired. And one year has passed since the latest Master Plan was launched, I also wish to seek Minister's update on the progress of this latest Plan.
Second, Special Implementation Team for Adults with Disabilities. Much focus has been placed on younger persons with special needs in the last six years, especially in early intervention and education, and that is good. As these children grow older, the demand for services to meet their changing needs had surfaced and become more urgent. Adults who are more severely disabled will need more support in the form of Day Activity Centres, respite care and residential living options. Those who are milder and are able to proceed to further studies require more education support in the higher institutions of learning.
Still, adults with disabilities who can be employed will need help in employability training, job placement, job support and continuous education and training (CET) so that they can be gainfully employed and be more financially independent. I have recently met a number of adults with various conditions, such as hearing impairment, visual impairment, down syndrome, who are either staying at home or taking on jobs that are much below their potential. There appears to be a need for greater focus, tighter support structure and resources to help them.
I urge Minister to form a Special Enabling Master Plan Implementation Team to specifically focus on addressing the needs of these adults with disabilities. Amongst other things, this team should look urgently into:
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(a) identifying locations, funding and construction of much-needed Day Activity Centres for adults with more severe needs; and
(b) resource and expand the scope and reach of the three Job Centres – BizLink, MINDS and ARC's E2C – so that more adults can receive not only screening and job placement, but also employability training and CET.
Third, clarification of Service Delivery System. With the recent changes in the service delivery mechanism in the social service and special-needs sector, I seek Minister's clarification on how all the different organisations, such as the Centre for Enabled Living, NCSS, MSF, CDC, VWOs and the new Social Services Offices, fit into the entire service delivery map for the special-needs sector.
Fourth, UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. With Singapore's signing of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in November last year, there has been rising expectation that the rights expressed in this Convention will materialise sooner than later. I seek the Minister's sharing of what the signing means and how things might be different for the sector now that the Convention is signed.
Sir, as the population is ageing, it is important that our senior citizens can age graciously. Thus, I would like MSF to provide an update of the active ageing programme and initiative implemented thus far. How does MSF measure the effectiveness of this programme and initiative? Moving forward, what else would the Government do to promote active ageing? Would MSF increase the funding for the active ageing programme, given that the health screening costs have increased by 36% over the past one year?
Sir, the Wellness Programme has been launched for some years now and is to be rolled out nationally. I would like to ask the Ministry what the Wellness Programme has achieved so far, and what other plans does the Ministry have to promote active ageing in the community.
Sir, much has been said in this House about active ageing. The World Health Organization defines active ageing as
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not merely being physically active or to be actively employed in the workforce, but also to "continue participation in social, economic, cultural, spiritual and civic affairs".
Could we explore, using a "whole of government" approach, concessions and benefits that help promote active ageing, for example, in areas such as transport, visits to attractions and community activities?
For transport, we should consider granting free travel on public transport to all Singaporean residents aged 70 and above to encourage them to move around more and lead healthier lifestyles. It will also, and I think more importantly, serve as a mark of our respect and a gesture of our thanks to our senior citizens. For all that they have done for us, our community and our nation. This would also be in line with the pledge made by the Government to do more to build a better, more inclusive society which includes the elderly.
As we know, seniors in several other civilised societies in different continents currently enjoy similar concessions. Would the Government consider working together with the public transport operators to assess how such a scheme could be brought about?
Likewise, we should also take a leaf out of the books of the National Heritage Board museums, which currently offer year-round free entry to elderly citizens and permanent residents. Could the Government encourage and support other museums and also attractions like the Gardens by the Bay and the Zoological Gardens to offer more generous concessions on entry for older visitors?
Similarly, could the Government, perhaps through the Active Ageing Council, look into the possibility of more generous concessions, in one form or another, for our senior citizens to attend classes and activities offered by Community Centres, in order to encourage more of them to take part?
Taken together, these will make it easier and more attractive for older Singaporeans to pursue more activities and hobbies, to allow them to age actively and independently. And, more importantly, for us to express our gratitude and our values of respect for our elders. Sir, may I continue in Chinese?
(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] I urge the Government and transport operators to consider granting free travel on public transport to
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those aged 70 and above to really implement the "active ageing" policy.
I believe that allowing seniors to enjoy concessions in transport, cultural and leisure activities will not only improve their quality of life, but also serves as a mark of our respect to our senior citizens. This will increase our awareness of the respect for the elderly, uphold the shared tradition of respecting the elderly among all the ethnic groups, and further cultivate a good social norm of respecting the elderly.
Sir, I declare my interest as a practising lawyer in this area. No one is spared from sudden incapacity. Media have carried news of apparently young and healthy people who suddenly collapsed and never regained consciousness, or met with an accident and became incapacitated overnight. However, such misfortune is age and wealth blind and it can happen to anyone, anywhere.
The catastrophe is when this person is the sole breadwinner in the family and the suddenness of this misfortune throws the whole family into chaos, especially when all financial matters are controlled by this person alone. There are so many bills to be paid, including medical bills for his surgery and treatment, loans for housing, credit cards, overdraft facilities, insurance, cars, education and renovation, water and utilities bills, Town Council charges and so on. All these are recurring monthly payments and any default would attract demand letters, court actions and cutting off of water and electricity supplies. In order to access the patient's bank accounts, his next of kin must first apply to court for an order to do so as well as to act for the patient in all aspects of his life. This is not only time consuming but also expensive.
With advance planning, there is a quicker and cheaper way of protecting one's family from such disaster if it should happen. The Lasting Power of Attorney is the answer to this ordeal. It allows a person above 21 years old and mentally sound to register this legal document with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) so that the person named can legally make decisions on this person's behalf should he become mentally incapacitated, without having to get a court order.
According to the OPG's Annual Report 2011, there were about 28,000 dementia patients then and an estimated 80,000 by 2030. The Mental Capacity Act came into effect on 1st March 2010. However, the number of people who
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registered their LPA was above 1,600 as of 31 March 2012. The take up rate is too slow and too low. Despite publicity efforts by the OPG, why are the numbers not heading north?
As this is a form-filling exercise involving a registration fee, I would like to suggest that OPG helps the person to complete the form and waive the registration fee if it is done for the first time. For repeat registrations, it will be fair to impose an appropriate fee to cover the administrative costs. I believe that in so doing, more people will come forward to get their LPA done.
Sir, Budget 2013's promise of a better Singapore with an inclusive society is a vision that probably means a lot to Singaporeans with disabilities or special needs children. Today, I just want to highlight one particular group of special needs citizens who could live that vision to the fullest if given more opportunity and support – Singaporeans with Down Syndrome.
When a 13-year old with Down syndrome passed her PSLE in 2009, a newspaper reporter wanted to find out the number of such children who took PSLE before but the effort drew a blank with MOE and Down syndrome Association (DSA).
Some parents of children with Down syndrome do feel that their children are like forgotten citizens. There are currently no official statistics on the number of Singaporeans born with Down syndrome each year and nobody seems to know for certain how many Singaporeans with Down syndrome are there in our current population.
Some adults with Down syndrome can be economically active but doing so can be a costly affair for them. Currently, they do not enjoy concessions for public transport. When they go to work, unless there is arranged transport, the care-giver will have to accompany them to take public transport to work thereby incurring double expense as a result.
The Fare Review Mechanism Committee (FRMC) will decide on the concessions for the various communities soon. I urge the Ministry to help lobby for adults with Down syndrome to be considered for concession as well.
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Last, caregivers of children and adults with Down syndrome do need assistance too. A mother of a grown up child with Down syndrome, her only child, shared this with me. She said it is a tough job to bring up a kid with disabilities. She quit her job many years ago and has exhausted her lifesavings to look after her special needs child. There are no subsidies for her adult child. Her only son pays the full adult fare for public transport.
I have said in my main Budget speech that how we take care of the weak, the disabled, the needy, and the least will determine how much we have progressed as a developed nation. I urge the Ministry to do more to help Singaporeans with Down syndrome see and feel that we are, indeed, a developed nation, that we are, indeed, an inclusive society.
Mr Chairman, the cost of juvenile delinquency can be substantial. There is the cost of juvenile justice, reduced life-time economic production and foregone life income. The impact may extend to the next generation, where children, raised in a disadvantaged family, may face more risk factors. However, juvenile delinquency and youth crime is not a big problem in Singapore, as yet. The school drop-out and unemployment rates for youths are low. The number of youth arrests has also been declining over the years.
But youth-at-risk has diverse needs. Currently, there is a landscape of services targeted at different issues. There are programmes for financial assistance, learning support. For youths who break the law, there is also the Guidance Programme, Probation Services, Juvenile Homes and Streetwise Programme to provide different avenues.
While these programmes have largely been successful, they may still be limited in their reach. It would be important to sustain these youths until they become self-motivated and independent individuals. I, therefore, urge that these youths be better supported by the Ministry after the completion of their programmes over the long term.
Mr Seah Kian Peng, you can take both your cuts together.
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Mr Chairman, manpower is scarce everywhere, but particularly so in the social service sector. Yet, demands for such services will only increase. I would like to ask MSF what its plans are to build up the manpower supply and capabilities for the sector. What productivity improvements can we expect in an area that is so labour-intensive and which cannot, on the face of it, be mechanised?
Social services are complex and labour-intensive in nature. Given the manpower crunch, it will be a challenge to ensure that the sector's capabilities are sufficiently built up to meet growing social needs. In March last year, MSF rolled out a number of manpower initiatives to strengthen the social service sector, one of which was to help VWOs provide competitive remuneration for social service professionals.
I would like to ask to what extent have the VWOs benefited from this increase in funding, that is, have they been able to attract and retain critical staff? Part of this must be to reduce the dependence on non-Singaporeans for social service needs. We need to increase the supply of these social service professionals. Could MSF also provide an update on the implementation process? In particular, has additional training pipelines and scholarships been opened, and have they attracted more promising and passionate Singaporeans to join the sector so far? Could MSF also provide an update on the plan to enhance career advancement and professional development opportunities as well?
Finally, I wish to ask what plans MSF has in place to achieve greater productivity for the more labour-intensive social services. At end of 2011, we had around 9,300 social service professionals in the sector, and the manpower in this sector has grown by an average of 1% to 3% annually. This is a really small increase.
At the same time, however, the number of people who require services is increasing far more quickly. So, how are we going to ensure that besides the supply of professionals, the productivity of our social services also increase, especially the labour-intensive ones?
By 2030, the elderly will constitute 19% of the total population, amongst a host of other issues that will probably surface at that same time. In many other areas of policymaking, the problems are complex and multifaceted. This one –
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of a lack of manpower in social services however – appears to be quite a straightforward one of increasing supply. Given that in the short-term, we cannot do so, can the Minister explore other solutions, perhaps giving the religious organisations and VWOs a greater role in social services provision?
Next cut, Sir. There is no doubt that Singapore society is getting more complex. To cope with this, we need a more coordinated and integrated social service with more delivery points for social assistance to be rendered to beneficiaries in a timely manner.
While MSF has revised the eligibility criteria and quantum of some of its schemes, there are more needy families with complex needs who require assistance and services to be coordinated across different agencies. The Government's service delivery has to be improved.
What strategies is the Ministry pursuing to better address complex ground needs? Families and individuals may require different combinations of help and services, and social assistance and service delivery can be better coordinated at the ground.
I know that IDA, MSF and NCSS – they are all working together on a five-year Social Service ICT Master Plan, with the aim of enabling the delivery of coordinated and integrated social services through VWOs and Help Agencies. May I ask for an update of the implementation of these initiatives?
For integrated service delivery, I think MOH's Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) provides a very good model for social services. But it needs to see itself not merely as integrating healthcare but also the general physical well-being of Singaporeans – which does include some element of social care. For example, does "befriending" an elderly who lives alone include checking on his medication? Can primary healthcare education – including the need for screening, preventive medication – could this be a form of social care? To this end, the merger of AIC with the Centre for Enabled Living (CEL) under AIC is a good move. But more must be done. Perhaps a counterpart, an agency for integrated social services, needs to be set up in MSF itself.
We need to be super integrated as part of the new social infrastructure throughout the island. We can consider the use of CDCs, HDB branch offices, Community Clubs, FSCs and so on. The bottom-line is this – that we need to
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have more delivery points for social assistance so that there is easier, more timely and better accessibility for people in need. Accordingly, we also need to provide adequate resources to ensure that the personnel manning these centres are trained properly.
Sir, there are many helping hands in Singapore but not all these hands are tightly interlocked or sufficiently coordinated to prevent people from falling through the cracks. Social services agencies and VWOs provide very important support to Singaporeans in difficulty, but they tend to operate most effectively within their own terms of reference and areas of expertise; and understandably so.
Individuals or families in difficulty, however, tend to face a whole host of complex and inter-related problems, ranging from financial, medical, legal, marital, and so on. Referrals from one agency or VWO to another are common, especially after thorough casework but these tend to be ad-hoc, and highly dependent on the individual social worker's awareness of where other forms of help can be sought. And even then, some clients may be asked to provide similar types of documents or be repeatedly asked similar questions at interviews by these various agencies.
The private sector as a whole also engages in significant community service efforts under their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes. But these resources though abundant are ad-hoc, not coordinated or targeted. Companies usually approach agencies and VWOs that they may know of, to carry out their CSR.
Outcomes are, therefore, not optimised, with potential delays in rendering assistance. Coordinated and integrated social service delivery is, therefore, key.
I, therefore, look forward to hearing about the Social Service Office (SSO) model that was briefly mentioned during the Budget Statement. I hope the SSO will be able to achieve the following objectives.
First, the SSO should be able to coordinate effectively and efficiently across the full spectrum of agencies and social services both in the immediate community as well as nationally.
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Second, it should be the main casework platform, so that the client only needs to go through one set of comprehensive interviews. Other agencies and VWOs should be able to rely on the accuracy and completeness of the SSO's fact finding, and only need to ask additional questions that are specific to their area of competence.
Third, the SSOs should have comprehensive databases to have a holistic and thorough overview of their clients' cases and what actions have been taken by other agencies. This will allow quicker and more effective assessment of needs and calibration of further assistance.
Fourth, the SSOs should not be the only gateway to our social safety net. That would be counterproductive. Singaporeans should be able to approach all agencies or VWOs, but the cases ought to be logged centrally, to allow the SSO to assess the cases holistically.
The SSOs should also be tasked to help to galvanise, coordinate and organise Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts that companies approach them with so that they can be more effectively and efficiently nation-wide.
Finally, I hope the SSOs can help to coordinate the community and neighbourhood volunteer databases so that various VWOs will be able to get a fair share of volunteers.
Mr Chairman, Singaporeans in need often opined that they have to jump through hoops to get the assistance they require. In addition, they often complain of a financial cliff that they face should their income increase.
Let me quote the example of Mdm L. Mdm L, a resident, is a divorcee without any children, she sold her matrimonial flat a number of years ago and after a struggle, managed to secure a rented unit under the joint-singles scheme. Without any education and having been unemployed for a period of time, she had received some support after a thorough search from various agencies, including job matching. She subsequently found a job as a cleaner and earned about $790 a month. Her monthly rental was about $90.
Subsequently, when I met Mdm L, I suggested that she go for training to upgrade her skills. She did so and her new employer increased her pay to the
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recommended $1,000 pay for cleaners. She came to see me and shared that she was overjoyed with her increment. However, her joy was short-lived.
Soon after, her rental lease was due for renewal and she found out her rent was to be readjusted to $205, an increase of $115. As such, if we use simple arithmetic, her $210 increase income became just $95. In addition, her new workplace was now located further away. Her monthly transport costs have, therefore, gone up by $12. Again, simple mathematics, her increased income has now come up to only $83. All this while, her work hours have also increased slightly. In all, without taking into consideration other costs, her pay taken as an hourly wage increase saw only an improvement of three cents in real terms for her. After writing to HDB, we managed to lower her rent.
However, although her case may be isolated, there are many low-income Singaporeans who face complex issues. At the current moment, there are no integrated agencies to be able to deal with all the issues at a go. Neither do we have enough officers on the ground, whether it is housing, education, employment, health, family issues, childcare – there are many more.
I, therefore, welcome the introduction of the MSF's Social Service Office (SSO) scheme to provide holistic care. I, however, advocate for a whole-of-Government approach for our public assistance and social assistance schemes so that Singaporeans in need have a one-stop resource to deal with their difficulties.
Sir, in closing, I hope that the MSF will be able to take on this role as the frontline Ministry. I, therefore, also advocate for more resources and funds to be allocated to this important Ministry to ensure that these holistic whole-of-Government efforts are not taken lightly.
Mr Hawazi Daipi is not here. Ms Low Yen Ling.
Mr Chairman, the Budgets of 2013 and 2012 have made it clear that the Government is committed to shaping an inclusive society and providing a stronger social safety net for all Singaporeans. There are three key aspects I would like to touch on briefly today.
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One, greater flexibility in the social safety net. Two, the need for integrated and seamless service delivery. And finally, promoting a "pro-family" culture.
More money has been set aside and new programmes have been put in place to meet the growing demands brought by an ageing population. It is, indeed, heartening to know that Singaporeans will now also receive financial help with the cost of healthcare consumables. Many of my residents will be beneficiaries. This would certainly help many low-income elderly Singaporeans cope with the cost of ageing. And this increased flexibility in Government funding is certainly welcomed.
I would like to urge the MSF to continue to review its present funding schemes for the elderly and disabled, and in particular, adult children with disabilities whose out-of-pocket healthcare expense is a considerable drain on their parents especially those from low-income families. To this end, are there any plans to extend more help to this particular group? Two, can the Minister provide an update on the progress on the Enabling Masterplan, with regard to Singaporeans with disabilities as well as elderly Singaporeans?
Next, in my constituency work, I have been meeting many elderly couples whose children are posted overseas or staying overseas. Oftentimes, the couple or in some cases, the parent lives alone in Singapore, with occasional visits from their children and grandchildren. To this end, I would like to ask if the Ministry could look into the needs of this growing group of elderly Singaporeans. Such elderly Singaporeans, especially those who stay alone, could potentially benefit from the formation of a special interest or support group to help them cope with the demands of ageing.
Next, on the importance of integrated delivery of services, that has been advocated by many of my fellow parliamentarians earlier, there is certainly an urgent need for integrated and seamless service delivery of services to our recipients of care and assistance. To this end, the needy individuals and their families have complex needs and they often need help from different agencies and Ministries. And it certainly can be very frustrating as highlighted by my various colleagues, to have to navigate various and different Ministries and agencies for help on a single matter. So, to this end, the establishment of AIC (Agency for Integrated Care) has certainly improved the situation tremendously in the past few years. Yet, more can be done in this area, especially where care and services need to be coordinated across hospitals, polyclinics, private clinics, VWOs, Family Service Centres, CDCs, Government agencies and also Ministries. So, other than the SSO, can technology play a greater role in the integration of care and service delivery for social needs? I hope the Minister can elaborate on
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the MSF's plan to streamline its delivery of care and services to those in need.
Last but not least, I wish to highlight the need to promote a "pro-family" mindset – as the Co-Chairman of National Family Committee. You may have read a recent The Straits Times' article on 5 March with this headline, and I quote, "Undergrads don't love the idea of dating". The report found that seven in 10 undergraduates have no plans to actively pursue relationships while studying. I do not know about you, but I was certainly appalled by the prospect of our campuses being devoid of romances.
To this end, may I ask the Minister for MSF to share more about the plans to promote pro-family and "family first" attitudes and values? How will the different age groups be targeted? Are there any innovative ways in which we can get to workplaces – not in a hard sell manner – get to workplaces, schools and social organisations to partner MSF to reinforce a positive mindset towards "family first" and family as a key foundation of life?
Order. It is now 7.30 pm. The time extended for the day's sitting has expired.
Thereupon Mr Deputy Speaker left the Chair of the Committee and took the Chair of the House.
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