Extending HOPE Scheme Coverage

Mr Ang Wei Neng asked the Acting Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what is the number of women who have joined the Home Ownership Plus Education (HOPE) scheme this year; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider relaxing the criteria for the scheme to include mothers between 35-40 years old and/or have up to four children.

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The Acting Minister for Social and Family Development (Mr Chan Chun Sing): Mr Speaker, Sir, the Home Ownership Plus Education (HOPE) scheme was introduced in January 2004. It is a voluntary scheme for young low-income families who choose to keep their families small. Beneficiaries are provided with help for a head-start in the form of cash grants as well as funding in housing, training and children's education. They also receive mentoring support.

There were 222 families who joined the HOPE scheme in the first nine months of this year. The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) will review the HOPE scheme as part of our regular programme reviews. We will look into whether it should be refined to better meet its objectives. We note Mr Ang's specific suggestions on the scheme.

Mr Ang Wei Neng (Jurong): Sir, I thank the Acting Minister for the reply. When I do the weekly house visits, I encounter quite a few families where the mothers have three or more children, and they are pregnant. They really hope to join the HOPE scheme. If we do not help these mothers, they will have problems bringing up the children. Without additional help, these children may not be able to do well in school and subsequently may not do well in society. This could create a vicious cycle. So, I hope the Acting Minister can review it earlier, rather than later.

Mr Chan Chun Sing: Mr Speaker, Sir, we note Mr Ang Wei Neng's suggestion. I would like to share with Members that if Members see that there are families who require help to manage their finances or bring up their families, whether it is the HOPE scheme or other schemes, they can always refer them to MSF, and we will see how best we can help them, either through the HOPE scheme or some other ways.

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The original intention of the HOPE scheme is to help our young families to keep their families small, and provide them with the mentoring help, in order for them to bring up their families better. But if there are other people who require help and do not qualify for the HOPE scheme, we can always look at some other ways to help them.

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