Childcare Centre Operators

Mr Yee Jenn Jong asked the Acting Minister for Social and Family Development what is the number of childcare centres that had changed operator over the past three years and whether the Ministry tracks the reasons for the transfer of operators for the centres.

Each year, the number of centres that has a change in owner or ownership structure has remained fairly constant at about 4% to 5% of the total number of centres. About one-third are for administrative reasons, such as the inclusion of new persons as business partners or a change in ownership structure, for example, from sole proprietorship to partnership or private limited. The other two-thirds are due to sales to another owner for business reasons.

To ensure that standards of care and development are met, all childcare centres are licensed by MSF. Where there is a transfer of ownership, the new owner is required to apply for a new childcare licence. The owner and the centre concerned must meet the regulatory requirements before the licence is issued.

I thank the Acting Minister for the answer. I just want a quick check as to whether MSF also monitors if there are any changes to the fees after the change of ownership in the immediate few months, and whether there is any trend in that respect.

Mdm Speaker, I thank Mr Yee for the supplementary question. No, we do not have the data at this point in time, but we do monitor any change in the fees made by the operators. We ask them to give adequate notice to the parents before any fee increase is made. Usually, for those who take the Government subsidies, we also scrutinise their cost structure to make sure that the fees are justified.

Page: 8