Category Archives: Education, Inequality, Cost of Living

BREAKDOWN OF INFANT CARE AND CHILDCARE SUBSIDIES RECEIVED BY CHILDREN IN LAST THREE YEARS BY SUBSIDY CATEGORY

Ms He Ting Ru asked the Minister for Social and Family Development in each of the last three years, in relation to infant care and child care respectively (a) how many children have received subsidies; (b) what is the percentage of those who have received (i) non-working mother subsidies, (ii) working applicant basic subsidies and (iii) workingContinue reading “BREAKDOWN OF INFANT CARE AND CHILDCARE SUBSIDIES RECEIVED BY CHILDREN IN LAST THREE YEARS BY SUBSIDY CATEGORY”

ANNUAL AMOUNT DISBURSED FROM ONE-OFF BABY SUPPORT GRANT AND PROPOSAL FOR FURTHER SUPPORT GIVEN RISING COST OF LIVING

95 Ms He Ting Ru asked the Prime Minister (a) for each year that the $3,000 one-off Baby Support Grant was in effect, how much was paid out under the grant; and (b) whether further support will be granted to Singaporeans who aspire to start families given the current concerns surrounding the rising cost of living and inflation.Continue reading “ANNUAL AMOUNT DISBURSED FROM ONE-OFF BABY SUPPORT GRANT AND PROPOSAL FOR FURTHER SUPPORT GIVEN RISING COST OF LIVING”

FLEXIBILITY OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS TO STAGGER START AND END TIMES OF DIFFERENT COHORTS

Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim asked the Minister for Education whether primary and secondary schools currently have the flexibility to stagger school start and end times for different cohorts within the school. Mr Chan Chun Sing: Primary and secondary schools have the autonomy to stagger school start and end times for different cohorts within the school, based onContinue reading “FLEXIBILITY OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS TO STAGGER START AND END TIMES OF DIFFERENT COHORTS”

SPECIAL SELECT COMMITTEE TO REVIEW UNIVERSITY COHORT PARTICIPATION RATE AND ADULT EDUCATION

Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim asked the Minister for Education whether the Ministry will consider convening a Special Select Committee to review Singapore’s current university cohort participation rate and adult education. Mr Chan Chun Sing: The provision of subsidised university places and pathways for skills upgrading are key policies which the Ministry of Education reviews regularly. As mentioned atContinue reading “SPECIAL SELECT COMMITTEE TO REVIEW UNIVERSITY COHORT PARTICIPATION RATE AND ADULT EDUCATION”

ANNUAL PRESCHOOL ENROLMENT OF CHILDREN AGED THREE AS A PERCENTAGE OF EACH COHORT SIZE AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC BACKGROUND IN LAST FIVE YEARS

Mr Leon Perera asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) in the last five years, what is the annual pre-school enrolment of children aged three years as a percentage of each cohort size; (b) what is the socio-economic breakdown of children aged 3 – 4 years who are enrolled in pre-schools; and (c) whether theContinue reading “ANNUAL PRESCHOOL ENROLMENT OF CHILDREN AGED THREE AS A PERCENTAGE OF EACH COHORT SIZE AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC BACKGROUND IN LAST FIVE YEARS”

PROPORTION OF COMCARE SHORT-TO-MEDIUM-TERM ASSISTANCE APPLICANTS REJECTED IN LAST THREE MONTHS AND ADJUSTMENT OF THRESHOLD ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Ms Sylvia Lim asked the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) in the last three months, what proportion of applicants for ComCare Short-to-Medium-Term Assistance (SMTA) have been rejected; and (b) in light of higher costs of living, whether the Ministry will consider adjusting the threshold criteria for household eligibility for ComCare SMTA. Mr Masagos Zulkifli BContinue reading “PROPORTION OF COMCARE SHORT-TO-MEDIUM-TERM ASSISTANCE APPLICANTS REJECTED IN LAST THREE MONTHS AND ADJUSTMENT OF THRESHOLD ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA”

SINGAPOREAN AND PERMANENT RESIDENT HOUSEHOLDS WITH ELECTRICITY AND WATER BILLS IN ARREARS AT END OF 2019, 2020 AND 2021

Mr Pritam Singh asked the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment how many Singaporean and permanent resident households were in arrears of (i) at least three months and (ii) more than six months, with regard to their electricity and water bills respectively at the end of 2019, 2020 and 2021. Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien: There are aboutContinue reading “SINGAPOREAN AND PERMANENT RESIDENT HOUSEHOLDS WITH ELECTRICITY AND WATER BILLS IN ARREARS AT END OF 2019, 2020 AND 2021”

EXCEPTIONS MADE IN DISBURSEMENT OF BABY SUPPORT GRANT AND POSSIBLE EXTENSION BEYOND SEPTEMBER 2022 GIVEN CONTINUING LOW TOTAL FERTILITY RATE

Mr Leon Perera asked the Prime Minister (a) to date, whether any exceptions have been made in the disbursement of the Baby Support Grant (BSG), for instance giving the grant to single mothers; and (b) whether the Government is considering an extension of the BSG beyond September 2022 in view of the continuing low total fertility rateContinue reading “EXCEPTIONS MADE IN DISBURSEMENT OF BABY SUPPORT GRANT AND POSSIBLE EXTENSION BEYOND SEPTEMBER 2022 GIVEN CONTINUING LOW TOTAL FERTILITY RATE”

LONG TERM PLANS TO INCREASE RECOGNITION OF SKILLS AND VOCATION-BASED TRAINING WITH TIERS FOR EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS CERTIFICATIONS

Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim asked the Minister for Education whether there are long-term plans for increasing Government’s recognition of skills and vocation-based training, with tiers for experience and skills certifications issued by the Ministry, such as the apprentice-journeyman-master system used for certain trades in Germany and the United States. Mr Chan Chun Sing: The Singapore Workforce SkillsContinue reading “LONG TERM PLANS TO INCREASE RECOGNITION OF SKILLS AND VOCATION-BASED TRAINING WITH TIERS FOR EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS CERTIFICATIONS”

STREAMLINE MEANS TESTING PROCEDURES AND SUBMISSION OF DOCUMENTS FOR PUBLIC ASSISTANCE APPLICATIONS AND RENEWALS

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for Social and Family Development in view of the current rising costs which may lead to more Singaporeans applying for financial assistance, whether the Government is looking to streamline the means testing procedures for public assistance applications and renewals, including reducing the number of physical documents that need toContinue reading “STREAMLINE MEANS TESTING PROCEDURES AND SUBMISSION OF DOCUMENTS FOR PUBLIC ASSISTANCE APPLICATIONS AND RENEWALS”