Debated in Parliament on 5 Jul 2023.
Ms He Ting Ru asked the Prime Minister whether the Government has conducted reviews on the impact of the (i) one-off Baby Support Grant and (ii) past increases in the quantum of amounts paid out under the Baby Bonus Scheme.
We have put in place a comprehensive suite of measures to support Singaporeans at every stage of their Marriage and Parenthood journey. Our surveys and engagements have found that these measures, including the Baby Bonus Scheme, have been helpful in providing reassurance to couples and supporting them with the costs and pressures of child-raising. The one-off Baby Support Grant introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic had also given some couples the assurance to proceed with their parenthood plans. In a 2021 Marriage and Parenthood survey of over 3,000 married respondents, about three in four said that the Baby Bonus Scheme made it easier for them to have children. In another survey of 1,500 married Singaporeans in 2021, of those who said they intended to delay their parenthood plans due to COVID-19, about seven in 10 said they were influenced by the Baby Support Grant to have a child earlier.
However, it is not meaningful to review the effect of the Baby Bonus Scheme or the Baby Support Grant in isolation from the impact of other measures in place to support marriage and parenthood. Moreover, parenthood decisions are complex and based on many different factors. These include the costs of raising children and being able to manage work and caregiving commitments, as well as exogenous factors, such as the overall economic climate. Beyond Government measures, it is, therefore, also important to continue our whole-of-society effort to strengthen support for marriage and parenthood and build a Singapore Made For Families.
PAPERCUTS