Debated in Parliament on 10 Sep 2012.
Mr Yee Jenn Jong asked the Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports over the past 24 months (a) how many new void deck childcare centres are allocated to PAP Community Foundation (PCF) and NTUC First Campus respectively; (b) what is the average set up and furnishing grant given to each of these two operators per new centre; (c) how does the Ministry decide on the allocation of new centres to these two operators; and (d) what recurrent and other grants have been given to these two operators.
Mr Yee Jenn Jong Page: 685 asked the Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports over the past 24 months (a) how many new void deck childcare centres are awarded to non-profit operators other than PAP Community Foundation (PCF) and NTUC First Campus; (b) what is the average set up and furnishing grant given to these operators for these new centres; and (c) what are the criteria for deciding when a void deck centre is to be made available to these non-profit operators who are not anchor operators.
There are currently more than 300 childcare centres operated by non-profit organisations in HDB void deck premises. One hundred and thirty-three (or 44%) of these centres are run by non-profit operators other than PCF and NTUC.
For a non-profit operator setting up a normal sized childcare centre for 100 children, it would receive about $100,000 in grants from the Government for the conversion of premises and purchase of furnishings and equipment. Anchor Operators (AOPs) receive similar conversion and furnishing grants. They are also eligible for additional recurrent grants under the Recurrent Grant scheme, which comprise largely of salary grants to enable them to attract, retain and develop quality teachers.
HDB sites are allocated to private, and non-profit operators, including AOPs, after taking into account the resident and housing type profiles, current mix of centres and views of the community and community leaders. Amongst sites that have been set aside for AOPs, the split between PCF and NTUC has been roughly equal.
PAPERCUTS