Plans of New Ministry of Social and Family Development

Mr R Dhinakaran asked the Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports what will be the priorities of the newly-announced Ministry of Social and Family Development since there are many social challenges that will fall under its purview.

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The Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports (Mr Chan Chun Sing): Mr Speaker, Sir, given the emerging demographic, economic and societal challenges Singapore faces, the formation of the new Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) will bring a sharper focus to the Government's work in the development of families, social services and social safety nets. At this point, our immediate priority is to ensure continuity in our current areas of coverage from family and social services to community development, youth and sports, even as we work towards a successful transition to the new Ministry.

Looking forward, MSF will focus on three key areas following the transition. First, we will enhance social safety nets for low-income and needy individuals and families. Some amongst these groups have complex needs beyond financial assistance. They may need help in areas such as housing, education and employment, counselling, caring for an elderly or rehabilitation. We will develop more effective initiatives to reach out to them and render help and support to enable them to improve their circumstances.

Second, we will improve the delivery of social services by working closely with the people and private sectors. These include services for the elderly, families, persons with disabilities and caregivers. We will work on accessibility, affordability and standards, and ensuring more responsive and citizen-centric delivery of services.

Third, we will further strengthen families. The family unit is the bedrock of our society, but it is coming under increasing strain with our changing demographics. We will create a more conducive environment for family formation and the strengthening of family bonds and resilience. We will also review our policies to meet family needs, such as childcare and eldercare, more effectively.

Sir, a strong social service sector is critical to support each of these three focus areas. The Ministry will therefore invest more resources to develop the sector. We will do more in working with the sector to attract, develop and retain social service professionals, raise sector capability and productivity, and improve service co-ordination. Through these efforts, we hope to bring about more resilient individuals and families, and play a part in helping our citizens achieve their hopes and aspirations for themselves and their families.

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