Debated in Parliament on 7 Jan 2025.
Ms Carrie Tan asked the Minister for Social and Family Development what evidence-based approaches and interventions in other parts of the world are being studied by the Ministry to improve on home ownership and school attendance trends in lower-income families.
Ms Carrie Tan asked the Minister for Social and Family Development with regard to the latest report on Supporting Lower-Income Household Trends dated November 2024, whether the Ministry plans to conduct deeper studies on the practical, psychological and social reasons why (i) 93% of the ComLink+ families who are home-ownership ready have yet to buy a flat and move out of public rental housing and (ii) only 26% of ComLink+ families with preschool-aged children in Anchor Operator preschools were attending school regularly in 2023.
In designing ComLink+, the Government considered the experience of other jurisdictions. These recognise that lower-income families face complex, interlocking challenges across multiple domains, which can hinder their progress. The families have limited bandwidth to work on meaningful longer-term goals, such as home ownership and education.
This is why in ComLink+, lower-income families are supported by the Social Service Office or the Family Service Centre. The family coach or social worker, respectively, works with the family to identify and set goals and organise support around their specific challenges.
Another adaptation is the successful use of conditional transfers in some countries. In Singapore, this takes the form of ComLink+ Progress Packages, which provide financial top-ups to recognise and supplement ComLink+ families' efforts towards goals, such as home ownership and education.
We are at an early stage of implementation and focusing on implementation, rather than conducting further studies. Family coaches are working on homeownership and preschool attendance issues with the respective families.
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