HEAD U - PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE

Head U – Prime Minister's Office

Raising Singapore's Total Fertility Rate

Mr Zaqy Mohamad (Hong Kah): Sir, I beg to move,

That the total sum to be allocated for Head U of the Estimates be reduced by $100.

Mr Chairman, Sir, thank you for giving me the honour of kick-starting the Committee of Supply session.

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Much has been discussed on Singapore's fertility rate to replace and economically support our ageing population. Many parents are thankful for the Child Development Credit Scheme and the improved funding support for CFAC and KiFAS schemes given in this Budget. The schemes are generous and go a long way to bring down the costs of raising children.

But benefits such as these and the Procreation Package given in the previous Budget may not be enough to stop the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) slide. These benefits are helpful to the "converted" – parents with children or those planning to have children. But we are still a long way from convincing the "unconverted" – the singles and the married couples without children – whose numbers are increasing and contributing to the TFR decline.

I initially planned to give a speech on creating a more conducive environment until I did an informal straw poll. Then I realised that I would just throw that cut away, and decided to share my findings. I spoke to single women and those married without children in their 20s and early 30s. Most will only think of marriage nearer their 30s or early 30s, and if they decide to bear children, it would be closer to 35 – very similar findings to a survey by an advocacy group, "I Love Children".

But I went further and asked, "If I dangled a baby bonus, paid in cash, no strings attached of, say, $50,000 per child, would this change your mind?" Most said "yes" some said "no". Then I realised that the answer depended on their current income. Those who said yes were usually in the lower- and middle-income. Those in the upper-middle income put the tag closer to $100,000 per child. For the "unconverted", most also indicated that more parental leave will not change their minds. This is not scientific, but if we do it methodically, there is

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something here – a Singaporean psyche that needs to be understood.

I had two take-aways from this: first, what the Government needs is a package that is in-your-face, upfront and simple that people can understand and appreciate. Singaporeans value the upfront benefit they can see and feel, before they are convinced to change their position. Second, there is a tipping point – a price. It is just that the Government has not found it, or is finding the price tough to swallow. Then, we need to ask ourselves, what is a Singaporean baby worth to the nation that depends on people? If we put what we are also spending to attract, manage and integrate foreign immigrants, we may well be able to balance the opportunity cost to the Government on a per head basis. We may well be spending a lot but our schemes are disparate, confusing and have conditions attached. So, people cannot appreciate the amount of Government support for child-raising to weigh against the opportunity cost. For example, it is hard for a working mother to appreciate the tax relief on foreign domestic worker levies for working mothers. But if we give an immediate rebate or a discount on the levy charge, the perception of household cost changes.

But I do recognise that putting too much emphasis on material benefits may well be a hazard. Thus, it is just as important to balance the approach more holistically and perhaps on a steady stream basis. So, we also need a whole-of-Government approach to make Singapore more conducive and affordable to raise children. I think there are probably other issues to address, apart from the material ones.

Firstly, we have to address the psychological barrier that child-raising is a burden, and anything more than two children is a prison sentence. The tuition arms race and peer pressure also sends the perception that it is expensive and

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time-consuming to raise a child. For many young couples, this commitment is a barrier to pursuing their ambition and enjoying their freedom.

Secondly, lower the barriers for young couples to home ownership. Keep prices of new flats low, have minimal upfront downpayment and provide sufficient supply so that couples can establish their families earlier. If possible, bring parents into the picture.

Thirdly, incentivise employers to create more parent-friendly work environments. Do more for the "unconverted" who need the benefit of time to find the right partner or time to build their family – credit to Member Paulin Tay Straughan's recommendations. We can still get it right with the next generation. Create a culture of balance amongst our students. Success is not complete – going for just grades and a good career. Life is more complete when you have a family to share with – spouse, children, parents. We have done well with sending the message and buy in for environmentalism on our young. Let us see if we can make procreation sexy, not sex, pardon the pun.

Organisations such as AWARE and "I Love Children" have also put forth recommendations. We should consider their findings, but we should also look at the context of our social norms. Perhaps the Minister can also share with us some factors he thinks that can turn the tide around, and which of our current schemes have shown promise and early success.

Encouraging procreation

Mr Viswa Sadasivan (Nominated Member): Sir, procreation, or the lack of it, must remain one of the most pressing challenges faced by our country as Singaporeans become more educated and affluent.

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The Government has given the matter due attention over the decades, by coming up with a slew of measures, ranging from the creation of the Social Development Unit (SDU) in 1984, to measures to create a "pro-family environment", to even a campaign called "Romancing Singapore".

Yet, despite these efforts, the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) did not seem to have moved up the scale. In fact, the TFR for 2010 hit an all time low of 1.16, compared to the replacement rate of 2.1.

We seem to have hit a stone wall. It is certainly not for want of trying. Yet, the problem is important enough for us to keep trying – tweaking the measures and introducing new ones until the penny drops. What we do every year counts.

Findings from studies, surveys as well as anecdotal evidence seem to point to a lack of time, money and energy and what is seen as an environment that is not supportive enough for the mothers, in particular, as the key inhibiting factors. This is consistent with the findings of an extensive study conducting by MCDS in 2004, where 10,000 persons were polled.

The correlation between early marriage and procreation has been established by several studies. I am happy to note that MCYS is continuing to encourage Singaporeans to marry, and marry early. However, I suspect that these measures may be hindered by what appears to be a larger consideration for young couples contemplating marriage – the price of HDB flats. As long as these couples perceive the cost of purchasing an HDB flat as being prohibitive, there is a high chance that marriage will be put on hold. Therefore, any serious effort to encourage young couples to tie the knot needs to factor in concerns that the HDB flat, which sadly appears to be a pre-requisite to marriage, is not perceived as beyond their reach.

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Secondly, the Tripartite Committee on Work-Life Strategy should come up with more concrete measures that provide sufficient assurance to young couples contemplating having a child. We have been promoting the concept of working from home for a decade now – yet this does not seem to have caught on with most Singapore companies, including Government offices. It has to be a mindset issue because, with the sophistication of technology today, there is little reason for employers not to allow young parents who need to work from home to look after their children to do so. After all, for many western MNCs based here, for them, this is an established practice. The Government could consider providing some form of cash incentive for technology investment, to nudge companies towards this end.

My third suggestion pertains to giving couples greater leeway in deciding on how they utilise the 16 weeks of paid maternity leave. As an increasing number of women today are holding key appointments in the workplace, couples may want the option of the mother taking the first part of the leave, while the father takes the remaining part to look after the newborn. This will not only give couples the flexibility they increasingly need but also send an important signal to the young working mothers or mothers-to-be which they desire to hear – that they are not going to have to carry the load all by themselves, and end up losing out in career.

This appears to be borne out by a recent survey conducted by AWARE that involved 1,001 working parents – where 57% of the respondents said they welcome the option of transferring parenting leave from mother to father. Ninety-one per cent supported the idea of making paternity leave compulsory.

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The AWARE report also stated that "studies have shown a direct correlation in developed nations between the level of gender equality in a society and its TFR. When women have to bear the bulk of childcare responsibilities, they are less inclined to have children...".

For these reasons, I urge the Government to give due consideration to AWARE's recommendations: two, in particular – to make paid paternity leave of two weeks mandatory, with the cost shared between the employer and the state; and, more importantly, to allow one month in the four months of paid maternity leave to be used as "parenting leave" to be taken by either parent.

It is evident that we are dealing with a very difficult challenge, essentially because it is a very private matter which has to be tackled at a national level. We need to keep trying and tweaking the good measures already in place to ensure we create a "family-friendly environment", provide concrete relief for parents and would-be parents, especially in terms of childcare assistance and financial support. Just as important is to send the right signals to working mothers and married women, in particular, that society appreciates and supports their concern that they should not be carrying the load of having and raising children on their own. This is not a silver bullet solution to the problem, but I am confident it will make a difference.

Population growth

Mrs Mildred Tan (Nominated Member): Sir, while the Singapore Government does not have a specific growth target, it is often stated that we do need a viable and sustainable population growth to develop a vibrant economy and society. The population size of 6.5 million was raised. We can grow Singapore: (i) by births of Singaporeans; and (ii) by foreign talent.

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I am still optimistic about our birth rates and how to get our young Singaporeans to settle down early rather than later in life. Some of us had a lively discussion with Deputy Prime Minister Wong yesterday on when and where we met our spouses. However, I will leave the discussion of marriage and procreation to other Members of this House. While I am not giving up on Singaporeans, we must think about how new growth must be from foreign talent.

Foreign talent does play an important role in the success of our economy as they will augment our local talent pool in science and technology, finance, investments and businesses. Foreign workers fill many jobs that Singaporeans do not want to do, like in construction, marine and some service industry jobs.

3.15 pm

Sir, I know that there will be MPs who will speak on social integration and problems that we face with a large inflow of foreigners and their impact on housing, transport and community living. As a small country, we will feel the presence of the inflow much more quickly. I believe we need to look beyond the criteria of skills and competencies, economic benefits, and the contribution in recruiting foreign talent and in the 20,000 new citizens.

I know we have recently introduced the Singapore Citizenship journey to help new citizens learn about Singapore's history and our way of life. Perhaps it is time to go beyond Learning Journeys and consider imposing a more rigorous assessment. Perhaps even a citizenship test that examines new citizens on Singapore's history and civic responsibilities.

In the US, there is a vigorous new citizen’s test that examines potential

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citizens on American history, government, geography, civics. They are tested on over 100 questions. There is also a Canadian Citizenship test that one can get their Canadian citizenship and they are tested on government and history. There is also a new Australian citizenship test that will see potential new citizens assessed on their understanding of Australian civics and their responsibilities and privileges of citizenship.

I would like to ask the Government to consider all these. Of course, I know the difficulty this poses. How do you test for willingness to integrate? How can we expect anyone new to subscribe to Singapore's values and ideology? How do we know whether a person fits in or sticks out? How do we know when a foreigner becomes a Singaporean?

Sir, I know that each new citizen has to say the Pledge and that it must mean something to each one of them. But I wonder if there is some way that we can make the willingness to integrate a criteria for selection. Is there a way to ask questions that ought to tell us how this person is likely to fare in Singapore? Has there been any study undertaken to understand the impact of new citizens?

To this end, can I ask the Deputy Prime Minister if we could conduct a large-scale longitudinal study on the impact of new citizens in Singapore? Among other things, it would measure effectiveness of our selection criteria for new citizens. What measures have we used to measure the suitability of these new citizens and in what ways have they met our expectations, fallen below or exceeded them and vice versa? Which among our tests were the most suitable in testing for social integration? Three, five or 10 years after they have become Singaporeans, how many do well economically? How many have joined volunteer associations and contributed to our society? How many have had children

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in Singapore? What difference, in short, have they made to Singapore?

Sir, I know we have used proxies to show the amount that new citizens and foreign talents have added to our GDP. No doubt, they have contributed successfully to our economic growth but the answers that the study that I am proposing can provide are far more detailed and nuanced results. The results of such a study would be far-reaching, it would not only tell us about talent recruitment, but also many things and draw insights into our society as well.

Finally, Sir, I end with a small point about making the best use of what we have. The reason we are keen to have more people here is to grow a vibrant economy and to ensure that we have the right capital. The other way to do this is to make better use of the people we already have. We need to make sure that women who have to stay home to look after their children or elderly, retirees and people with disabilities who cannot move about easily can still be economically active. This means ensuring the right institutional arrangements and incentives are in place for these different groups, and it is a matter for the Government, businesses and the unions consider all these.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security (Mr Wong Kan Seng): Mr Chairman, Sir, I thank the hon. Members who have spoken on the issues of Singapore's low Total Fertility Rate (TFR), ageing population and the need to keep our economy open and welcome migrants and foreign workers. I believe Mr Lim Boon Heng will address the issue of ageing population later.

Our resident Total Fertility Rate reached a new low of 1.16 last year, in spite of efforts to promote marriage and parenthood. One cause of this is that

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married women are having fewer children. They also marry later. The average number of children born to ever-married citizen females aged 40 to 49 fell from 2.76 in 1990 to 2.22 in 2000, and to 2.08 in 2010. While the TFR of ever-married women has declined, they still have around two children per couple. The other contributing factor that has the greatest impact on our low TFR is that more Singaporeans are remaining single. I have asked the Clerk of Parliament to distribute some tables and Members can refer to those. [ Copies of handouts* distributed to hon. Members .]

In 2010, 62% of females aged between 25 and 29 were single, up from 45.5% in year 2000. For males of the same age group, 78.5% were single in 2010, up from 66.4% in 2000. Singlehood rates for those aged 30 to 34 have also increased significantly. Some Members suggested that the key to raising our fertility rates lies in reducing our singlehood rates. I totally agree. But getting married is a very personal decision. I know from perception surveys that Singaporean women do want to get married, and they are just waiting to find the right partner, and so are the men. Getting married is a very personal decision. What the Government can do is to facilitate the process by providing opportunities for singles to socialise. This is done through the Social Development Network (SDN) and accredited private dating agencies. Minister Vivian Balakrishnan will elaborate on SDN's programmes when he speaks at the COS debate on his Ministry.

Mr Zaqy Mohamad and Mr Ong Ah Heng – in their Budget speeches – also suggested providing more financial assistance for couples to have children. The Government has indeed invested sizeable resources to support Singaporeans in having children. Since the Marriage and Parenthood (M&P) package

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was introduced in 2001, the Government has enhanced the package twice – once in 2004 and again in 2008. Members can refer to the handouts I have given regarding the individual support measures that were introduced in 2001, 2004 and 2008.

Members can see that with the 2008 enhancements, we now have a broad-based package of support measures, including increased maternity and childcare leave, increased baby bonus cash gift and co-savings, and increased childcare subsidies. We should allow more time to assess the impact of these measures, before considering further adjustments. The National Population and Talent Division (NPTD) will consider Mr Zaqy's suggestion on how to present the package more intuitively, so that Singaporeans can understand and appreciate how the various measures apply to them.

Mr Zaqy Mohamad and Mr Viswa Sadasivan said that the cost of HDB flats could have deterred couples from getting married. While that may be the reason some give for not getting married, let me assure the House that the Government is committed to keeping new flats affordable through generous subsidies. Minister Mah Bow Tan will say more about this when he speaks at Ministry of National Development's Committee of Supply (COS).

On the issue of facilitating work-life practices and work-life balance, Mr Viswa Sadasivan is well aware that there is the Tripartite Committee on Work-Life Strategy which drives the implementation of work-life strategies across industries. Companies can tap on the Work-Life Works! (WoW!) Fund to defray the costs of introducing work-life measures, for example, for purchasing laptops and implementing infrastructure to support

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telecommuting. Companies are best placed to determine how best to address employees' needs, to attract and retain their talent. Mr Gan Kim Yong will say more about work-life balance during his COS debate on MOM.

With regard to parental leave, the Government introduced paid childcare leave in 2004 to support both fathers and mothers in their parenting duties. In 2008, we extended paid childcare leave to six days for each parent until the child turns seven. We have also introduced six days of unpaid infant-care leave a year until the child turns two. That is a total of 42 days paid leave and 12 days of unpaid leave per parent. In 2009, a year after the introduction of the 2008 M&P package, 30% of fathers took more than three days of paid childcare leave, as compared to 46% of mothers. The Ministry of Manpower’s survey also shows that 48% of companies voluntarily provide paternity leave in 2010 on top of the legislated childcare leave. For now, I think we have done enough to encourage shared parental responsibility through childcare leave. Married couples should decide between themselves how to share their parenting responsibilities.

Mr Zaqy Mohamad suggested that there could be a tipping point in subsidies beyond which Singaporeans will change their minds about having babies. But marriage and parenthood cannot just be about tangible costs and benefits. I hope married couples would not just take a transactional approach in deciding whether to have children. While having children means having to make sacrifices in the short term, there is immeasurable joy to see them grow up and be good citizens. There needs to be a mindset change among our population if we were to tackle the issue of low TFR. Or, as Mr Zaqy Mohamad said, Singaporeans need to overcome these psychological barriers to get married and have children. What the Government can and will do is to

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ensure that Singapore is a good place to raise children. The Government will also provide some funding support to help them do this, as we have done. But couples must bear some responsibilities for being parents too.

Mrs Mildred Tan asked whether we could make "willingness to integrate" part of our selection criteria for new immigrants, and whether we would consider implementing a citizenship test. We need foreign manpower to augment our local workforce so that we can remain globally competitive. But not all foreigners who come here to work are allowed to sink roots. We allow only those of good quality and who share our core values to become PRs or citizens. We take into account not just factors, such as the applicant's economic contributions, qualifications and age, but also whether he can integrate well into our society, and his commitment to sinking roots. In general, Permanent Residents and Singapore Citizens applicants would also have to be in Singapore for some time before their applications may be approved, and this allows us to further assess their level of integration. We also consider the profile of the family if they are included in the application.

Another group of foreigners that we allow to settle in Singapore as PRs and citizens are those with family ties to Singaporeans. These are mostly foreign spouses. A key consideration is whether the local sponsor has the ability to look after the family, so that allowing the foreign family members to reside in Singapore does not result in increased burden to society.

Sir, it is difficult to assess an immigrant's willingness to integrate as this goes into his state of mind. Instead, we should make a holistic assessment of the immigrant's ability to integrate through objective factors such as the

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applicant's age, length of stay, family ties, and whether he has studied in Singapore, and so on and so forth. Integration takes time and cannot be rushed. We must take a pragmatic and realistic approach. If there are practicable suggestions that can help us to achieve the objective of integrating new immigrants with locals, please let me know.

On the issue of citizenship test, this has been considered by the National Integration Council (NIC). Members felt that a test may not accurately assess or ensure the long-term commitment of new citizens. Instead, members felt that a more structured naturalisation process would be more effective in ensuring that all new citizens understand the fundamentals of Singapore society and our values. Hence, to enhance the integration of new citizens into our community, we have begun putting them through the Singapore Citizenship Journey. New citizens are required to complete the journey before they can complete the citizenship formalities. This programme seeks to enrich new citizens’ understanding of Singapore's history, nationhood, norms and values. It also provides platforms for new citizens to be involved in our local community.

Mrs Mildred Tan also suggested doing a longitudinal study on the impact of new citizens on Singapore. I am told that there is a periodic study on the perception of integration and rootedness of Singaporeans and PRs. A study is now ongoing too. But we must be careful not to create too much of a distinction between new citizens and old citizens, lest we get into a debate on who is more Singaporean.

*Cols. 3409-3412.

The French had such a debate almost two years ago, and I do not think they ended up feeling better or happier. It created divisions within the society as a result of that debate. Under our laws, whether a person is a new citizen or old citizen, he receives equal treatment.

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Mr Chairman, NPTD takes a Whole-of-Government approach and we assure Mr Zaqy Mohamad that in tackling the population issues, it will continually refine its policies and strategies to ensure a sustainable population – one that supports our economic aspirations and underpins a cohesive Singapore.

3.30 pm

Mr Chairman: Mdm Halimah. You have two cuts. Take them together, please.

Productivity in the public sector

Mdm Halimah Yacob (Jurong): Mr Chairman, we have heard a lot about efforts to boost productivity in the private sector but nothing much about such efforts in the public sector.

The public sector cannot be just a passive bystander because its policies and actions will have an impact on the private sector, and some of the agencies are directly involved in boosting productivity efforts in the 12 sectors. It may not be so easy to measure productivity in the public sector but we still need to have clear measurables and outcomes. It is also important not only to focus on processes, cutting costs, automation and training alone but to encourage staff to imbibe innovation and to think out of the box in serving customers. The public sector should aim to provide the most delightful service to its customers as its goal.

Sir, I would like to ask the Prime Minister what has been done to boost productivity in the public sector. How are public sector employees being prepared to adopt a more innovation-driven rather than just a rules-based mindset? In the past, we used to have the QCCs and WITs to engage public sector staff on productivity efforts. What structures are in place today? How is productivity

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measured in the public sector? What are the targets and outcomes?

Boosting re-employment of older workers

Sir, let me move on to my next cut. Let me first of all applaud the Civil Service for being forward looking, and adopting very progressive practices in the re-employment of older workers.

The Civil Service has brought forward its implementation date to July 2011, instead of waiting until January next year, when the re-employment law kicks in. I want to applaud the Public Service Division also for agreeing with the union, not to cut wages of its employees by 10% at 60 years of age, in recognition of older employees' value to the public service.

I urge the private sector to follow the public sector's lead, instead of waiting for the law to come into effect next year, and not to cut wages at 60 years of age. There is much that the private sector can learn from the public sector, including how to prepare the older workers for their re-employment and putting a system in place even before someone reaches 62 years of age.

Sir, I would like to ask the Prime Minister for an update on the re-employment efforts in the Civil Service. How many have been re-employed after reaching 62 years of age? What adjustments were made to their wages and other benefits? How many were offered the Employment Adjustment Payment (EAP)?

Talent in the Civil Service

Ms Jessica Tan Soon Neo (East Coast): Mr Chairman, in the war for talent, the Civil Service too needs its fair share of talent, not only for policy-making and good governance but also talent that understands and is able to support a

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diverse population and the execution of effective policies.

With the competitive talent market, both in Singapore and internationally, does the Prime Minister see the Civil Service as being able to create a conducive and stimulating environment to attract talent and enable them to pursue their interests and ambitions? What has the impact been on the recruitment and retention of talent in the Civil Service? What is the attrition rate of this talent? How effective has this talent been, in enabling the Civil Service to achieve positive impact and quality service for Singapore?

In Budget 2011, we have been stressing that for Singapore to continue to drive sustainable growth, businesses must innovate and be productive. What has been done in the Civil Service to drive innovation and what has been the impact on rising productivity?

A diverse talent base is becoming an important factor in the business strategy of many organisations to support innovation and to understand the needs of the market. Does the Civil Service share this view? And does it have a diversity strategy and is it viewed as a crucial part of the talent strategy?

Arrest marriage decline trends

Assoc. Prof. Paulin Tay Straughan (Nominated Member): Sir, the root cause of ultra-low fertility is late marriage. How can we improve the infrastructure to make it conducive for singles to invest in courtship? I think I may have the answer in a three-pronged approach: reduce opportunity cost for not overworking, protect private time, and broaden social circle.

To reduce the opportunity cost, I urge that we should revisit the performance-based evaluation system and set clear and

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fair measurable indicators of what constitutes good work. The existing system is too competitive – outstanding performance depends on who runs faster and further. We should have a fixed distance platform and reward those who manage to work more efficiently within office hours. We should not encourage those who insist on going the extra mile at the expense of a healthy social life.

To avoid the stress induced by short-term goals where performance outputs are measured year-on-year, where applicable, we should set a two- or three-year cycle for performance evaluation. Sustained good work is best measured in more meaningful longer-term cycle.

How do we stop die-hards from overworking? To protect private time, have a mandatory shut-down once a week. I suggest closing the office at 5 pm on Friday evenings. Lingerers will be forced to leave the office and be allowed to return only on Monday morning. In this way, the organisation can also save on electricity.

To facilitate the broadening of social circles, the Social Committee of each unit will be tasked to organise activities for weekends. For example, wine and cheese at The Fullerton, bring a friend and enjoy the sunset. The KPIs for the Social Committee will be very specific: how many events were organised, the attendance for both employees and friends, and feedback from the attendees. Once all these are put in place, we will just pray over them and leave nature to take its course.

I challenge the Civil Service to trial this holistic approach – I will even offer my services free-of-charge to Deputy Prime Minister Teo. Together, we can make the Civil Service a most "happening" destination for Singapore's brightest and best and the civil servant will surely evolve into a cool icon for Singapore.

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The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence (Mr Teo Chee Hean): Sir, let me first address Ms Jessica Tan’s question on talent attraction and retention. In 2010, the Singapore economy recovered strongly and the labour market tightened. The resignation rate for the Civil Service rose, from 3.5% in 2009, to 4.7% in 2010. For the Management Executive Service, resignations rose in 2010, with attrition rate highest at 17% for the younger graduate officers.

To attract and retain able and committed officers, Civil Service wages must be competitive. Salaries are therefore benchmarked against the private sector. Civil Service remuneration fell during the recent recession. But as private sector wages rise, the wages of civil servants must also rise. Otherwise, we will lose capable officers and suffer an overall decline in the quality of the Civil Service.

In June last year, the Civil Service raised starting salaries for the Management Executive and professional schemes. We also made significant revisions to Legal Service salaries, especially for the younger officers, to ensure that we retain good officers despite a hot market for lawyers. We are also restoring the cuts to annual increments made during the downturn. Overall, the annual salaries of civil servants this year, ie, in 2011, will return to the pre-downturn level in 2008. Variable salary components which fell during the recession have increased in tandem with the strong economic recovery. An Annual Variable Component (AVC) of 1.5 months (plus a $300 one-off payment) was paid to all civil servants. As announced last year, a Special Variable Payment (SVP) of 1 to 1.6 months will also be paid in March 2011, to those with good performance.

By design, the annual remuneration of senior officers contains a significant

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variable portion dependent on the officer’s performance and that of the economy. The more senior officers, including Ministers, have more variable annual salary packages. The main salary component for senior officers that varies with economic growth is the GDP Bonus. GDP Bonus is zero if GDP growth is 2% or below, but accounts for a maximum of one-quarter of the annual salary of senior officers, or eight months, when the GDP growth exceeds 10%. This links the annual salary automatically to GDP growth which makes it more responsive to actual market rises and falls than having the salary relatively fixed. Hence, during the downturn in 2009 and 2010, no GDP Bonus was paid. This contributed to a 18% to 22.5% reduction in annual salaries of senior officers for the two years.

This year, in 2011, based on the exceptionally high 2010 GDP growth, officers will get the maximum rate of GDP Bonus. Nevertheless, I should emphasise that their total annual salaries,
including all the variable components, remain within the market benchmarks, and that was the way the salary structure was designed. Annual salaries of senior officers have therefore moved down for two years and up again, in line with our policy of keeping pace with, but not leading the market. For 2011, we expect GDP growth to be lower than 2010, hence, in all likelihood, GDP Bonus paid next year will be lower, too. These are year-to-year fluctuations, and not permanent pay increases.

The Supplementary Estimates that Mr Low Thia Khiang referred to on Monday are, therefore, a reflection of the way that our variable salary system is designed to function, falling and rising in line with the GDP. All this was fully explained and debated in this House when the Government last made major salary revisions in 2007, and there has been no change to the system since then.

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In 2007, Mr Low Thia Khiang took part in the debate and he said:

“While we accept that basic salary may be benchmarked broadly with the private sector in line with international best practice, we believe that performance pay should also be introduced to establish a visible correlation between performance and pay. Currently, the Civil Service has no financial bottom line in ensuring good outcomes, although part of the senior officers’ salary is linked to GDP growth. "

Sir, as Mr Low Thia Khiang said:

"... while it is necessary to link a percentage of salary to performance, it is also imperative to provide a performance regime whereby it is possible to discriminate performance for non- performers or under-performers, and to reward them accordingly".

And, Sir, in this respect, Mr Low added, "I welcome the adjustments in Ci vil Service pay structure just announced by the Minister.” That means, by me.

So, Sir, we can see that Mr Low accepted two key principles – benchmarking to the private sector and variable performance-linked pay. These are two key important principles and although we had discussions of which models to follow and what KPIs to follow, I think that we appreciate Mr Low’s acceptance that benchmarking to the market and variable pay is, in fact, the way to go. So Mr Low should not be surprised that the Civil Service pay, with significant variable components, has moved up this year in line with the economy, as we moved down in the last two years in line with the economy significantly. In fact, Mr Low welcomed such a variable pay structure for the Civil Service.

Let me now move on to other aspects of the Civil Service that the Members have brought up. Ms Jessica Tan asked

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about diversity in the Public Service. We value diversity in views and experience, and welcome mid-career officers who have worked in the private or people sectors. This group has grown from 49% of newly-appointed officers in 2008 to 54% in 2010. These were the new officers coming in.

We have also introduced internship programmes for junior college (JC), polytechnic and undergraduate students. We would, of course, be delighted if they eventually join the Service, but if not, at least they have gotten a first-hand experience of public sector work.

Mdm Halimah asked about public sector productivity. Our public sector has been consistently well rated internationally. But notwithstanding this, the Public Service is making a concerted effort to improve productivity by enhancing organisational efficiency.

Our strategy is summarised as 3Cs: Customer-centric, Connected and Creative government.

Customer-centric government is about understanding our customers better and taking their perspectives into account in designing policies, regulations and services. Our agencies should also operate in a more connected manner, so that our customers can benefit from an integrated approach to policies and services.Our agencies also need to be more creative, by allowing new ideas to surface and experimenting with them quickly. These 3Cs are underpinned by a culture that embraces change and continuous improvement.

All our public agencies have come on board the 3Cs strategy last year. The Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Agencies will be personally responsible for driving the 3Cs in their respective organisations. The Ministry of Finance and

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the Public Service Division will also coordinate central efforts to drive inter-agency collaboration for our productivity push.

3.45 pm

Mdm Halimah also asked about re-employment of older workers. The Public Service recognises that older workers form an important part of its workforce. Over the last two years, 2009 to 2010, 1,400 officers or eight in 10 retiring officers have been offered re-employment and 83% accepted. Of those who accepted, four in 10 were re-employed at last drawn pay while the remaining had their wage adjusted to reflect the value of the jobs.

No Employment Assistance Payment (EAP) was paid as these guidelines were only finalised early this year. Our approach is to focus on getting officers re-employed so that the payment of EAP would be minimised.

One important emphasis is to engage officers at least six months before their retirement so that they have ample time to make their decisions. We have various ways of helping retiring officers. One is that the Public Service Division (PSD) launched a special module in the careers portal, Careers@Gov, for officers to deposit their resumes, search for job opportunities and apply for Public Service jobs.

For the small number of officers who cannot find a suitable public sector job, the Public Service will help them with job search skills, training and networking opportunities.

Assoc. Prof. Straughan had various suggestions, very interesting ones, on work-life balance. I would be very happy to take up her suggestion and get PSD to get in touch with her.

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Indeed, Public Service officers work very hard, and often long hours so that Singaporeans can enjoy good service and Singapore can grow and progress. We do try to take care of their well-being. We have implemented work-life and family-friendly measures for many years such as childcare leave and staggered working hours. Other work-life measures include flexible work arrangements such as telecommuting, no-pay leave and part-time work. We also offer marriage, maternity, paternity and childcare leave to enable officers to spend time with their family.

But we cannot be rigid in applying these measures. Each agency has its own needs and requires flexibility in implementing measures that best suit them. In fact, the Public Service Division has adopted a Blue Sky policy for PSD itself, where on Fridays, officers are encouraged to leave the office by 6.00 pm while the sky is still blue, while there is still sunlight. But we are careful not to make such a scheme mandatory. Some officers may prefer to finish their work so they have less to worry about before heading out for a big weekend, starting late on Friday night. But for those who prefer to leave by 6.00 pm, they can do so without guilt.

Notwithstanding this, I do share Assoc. Prof. Straughan's point that we can do more to create a more work-life friendly culture in the Service and we will do more to do so. PSD will help agencies better implement the measures that we have and educate supervisors and officers on the range of flexible work arrangements that we have available.

Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng (Jalan Besar): Sir, ably led by Minister Lim Boon Heng, the national Wellness Programme aims to promote active ageing. Excellent toolkits such as this [ indicating ] were developed to encourage seniors take part in health screenings and physical exercises such as

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tai-chi, line dancing and even belly-dancing.

Sir, to add more meaning to ageing, I propose that the Active Ageing Framework formally includes the components of work and contribution into the current physical, mental and social dimensions.

Sir, there are seniors who wish to and can afford to work less, at their own pace and their own time. I ask for a Jobs-for-Seniors Clearing House to be set up to help identify, assess and place seniors in part-time work suitable for elderly beyond the usual blanket-sewing, handicraft type of work.

Next, on ageing more meaningfully, Sir, more popular programmes such as Youths for Causes and Young Change-Makers support young people to contribute to people or causes beyond themselves. Similar programmes such as a Seniors for Causes or Senior Change-Makers should also be funded throughout Singapore so that ageing Singaporeans can make greater impact on other people, beyond themselves and their families.

Let us fund People's Association more to help all our senior Singaporeans to finish well in life. Do not let them just count their days. Let us help to make their days count.

Supporting seniors

Mdm Cynthia Phua (Aljunied): Mr Chairman, Sir, the Minister has certainly put in much thought and funds for the care of senior citizens in this year's Budget. Many senior citizens are already living longer lives with advancement in healthcare. But as they live longer, it is important that they must also enjoy some quality in their lifestyle and enjoy mobility.

I would approach the cut with the elderly and residents' perspective and wishes.

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"Medical. Although, I would not have enough savings in my Medisave but I have MediShield – money no worry, if I am hospitalised. But outpatient medicine is taken everyday. Lucky, children are good and I have got some savings – can still pay. But high inflation, medicine must be kept low. If not, got to ask for more money from children and take from savings. Hope Government could look into the cost of medicine for chronic diseases for the elderly.

Accessibility to medical care. I have high blood pressure, diabetic and my eye is not good. I need to go to the polyclinic and also to the National Eye Centre for check-up regularly. Hope the Government provide more comprehensive and integrated medical care at the polyclinic for the elderly. Go to doctor. Children busy – say must take leave – limited leave days only. How about Government granting leave to take care of an old lady?

Social. Children busy – have their own work. I am lonely, do not want to watch TV all the time. Active ageing is the word. My estate is good – wellness centre, Neighbourhood Link. But wellness centre so far away – only one per Division. Can Government build more wellness centres near my flat? Alternatively, expand RC or CC Centre for elderly.

Education. Do not think I am old. I want to know more about the world. More courses for me at the community centres, wellness centre, National Library. I also want to go on Internet. Can go to the university? No chance when I was young. Can Government subsidise some of these courses?

Buddy and network. Some of our friends are young – 65 and educated. They can explain to me lots of things. Tell me about my medical condition, tell me about the Government ang pow . Can we have more buddies for the elderly in the estate? Encourage and train more buddies for the elderly."

The dream list goes on. With the increase in the Elder Fund, some of these

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wishes can be fulfilled, but, most importantly, we must understand the elderly needs and ready to take on an increasingly elderly population.

Caring for the elderly

Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong (Tampines): Sir, the dynamics of family life and work have changed significantly in the last decade. There are more elderly and they are living longer. At the same time, families are under increasing pressure in the demands of work and raising children. They need help to cope with the demands of caring for the elderly, especially if they suffer from stroke or chronic illnesses.

I often encourage my residents to send their elderly to our eldercare centres where they keep socially and mentally active and also receive rehabilitation treatment. But, often, cost is a factor. We need to improve the affordability of eldercare centres to the elderly. I urge the Government to review and simplify the means-test system which presently is based on the gross income of all the children of the elderly. The use of monthly per capita family income does not reflect the amount of money available to meet the needs of the elderly.

This issue is compounded by the unwillingness of family members to disclose their incomes, especially in estranged families. In such instances, the elderly usually suffer as they would rather withdraw from eldercare than be the cause of family discord. The limit of means test subsidies is also currently unrealistically low with the eligibility set at $360 per capita family income for the 75% subsidy. This should be increased.

I would urge the Government to increase subsidies and rebates for

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caregivers of the elderly tied to the median income. They need the support, particularly the singles. Take my resident, Tang Meng Choo. She is a single in her 50s and lives with her wheelchair-bound mother who is 79. Meng Choo needs to hire a maid to look after her mother who suffers from cancer. She also sends her mother to an eldercare centre to keep her active and pays for the ambulance transport. All these plus the ongoing medical treatment cost a significant sum of money and Meng Choo is doing her part as a filial daughter. To meet these demands, her own personal savings have been drawn down and she fears ending up as an elderly single with little savings for herself. She asked me, "Then who will take care of me?"

We should recognise the important caregiving role of singles like Meng Choo. I would urge the Government to take the lead in converting the six days of childcare leave for married workers to family care leave for all workers including singles. They should also enjoy the foreign maid levy relief which married women receive.

Sir, there is a rising number of elderly who feel lonely in this fast-paced society. In Tampines-Changkat, we have a programme called "Silver Connect" to keep them engaged and active. This involves training residents to befriend the elderly and to organise activities for them and to keep them engaged. We will be launching a book next month to capture the memories of some of them in the programme: the first time they fell in love, their first job, their childhood days, their regrets. The interviews are conducted by young volunteers to encourage inter-generational bonding at the same time.

I would like to ask the Minister for more funding for such grassroots-based programmes to engage the elderly and for an update of his Wellness Programme.

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Subsidy for elderly care services

Mr Baey Yam Keng (Tanjong Pagar): With our smaller family sizes, it is increasingly more challenging for Singaporeans to take good care of our elderly parents. In the past, with more children in the family, they can share the responsibility among siblings. With one or more children in a typical family today, and a substantial number of our women in the workforce, each child bears a much heavier responsibility. It is even more difficult for working adults with young children to care for elderly or sickly parents at the same time.

Last year, the Government committed to set up 200 more childcare centres by 2015. The Budget this year has also provided enhanced subsidies to help parents with their childcare fees.

Certainly, I hope that with these provisions, there will be more babies in Singapore, and the falling fertility rate would reverse. We should be optimistic. On the other hand, what we know for certain is that the number and proportion of senior citizens in Singapore will increase steadily in the coming years. While we are placing significant resources in caring for the young ones, and the Finance Minister just mentioned a 150% increase in spending for childcare, can we also allocate more resources to help with elderly care?

Bringing up a child, while it can be stressful, is very rewarding when we see our child growing up and becoming more independent. However, caring for the elderly is the reverse, when we see our loved ones becoming weaker and more dependent over the years. It is physically, emotionally and financially draining.

Hence, there is a pressing need for us to speed up the set up of more step-down medical facilities, short-term care, day-care and hourly-care centres, especially in

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all our housing estates. Such facilities and services will allow Singaporeans in their productive years to focus on their work as they can leave their parents in good hands. Not only will the elderly have people to look after them, they will also be in a familiar environment. I think it is also very important that we make a bigger effort to reduce our reliance on foreign domestic workers to take care of our elderly.

I would like to propose subsidies for the use of such services and facilities, just like for childcare. There should be a basic subsidy for all parents, and tiered additional help, similar to the system we have for childcare subsidies. Households with lower incomes or working adults should benefit from higher subsidies.

Allow me to share with the House some information about the Queenstown Multi-Service Centre in my constituency which has a substantial elderly population. Set up in 1998, it is currently supported by Queenstown CCC and Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society. The centre offers both rehabilitative and day-care services. A two-way transport service is provided daily for the elderly to and from the Centre. Rehabilitative treatments are performed for the elderly with acute health problems, such as stroke, paralysis, fracture and neurological defects. Without these treatments, their problems may become chronic, and the elderly might become weaker and eventually bed-ridden and would require institutional care.

Day-care services are provided for the frail elderly whose family members are out for work during the day. The elderly enjoy the social interactions and recreational activities which meet their psychological needs. Sing-alongs, individual or group exercises and games, calligraphy, gardening, tea appreciation and, yes, even mahjong , keep the elderly active and mentally alert. Every month, there are birthday parties and one or two outings. Both ambulant

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and wheelchair-bound elderly get a chance to enjoy themselves during these outings.

More than 40% of the elderly at this Centre can only afford subsidised fees. The community groups will continue to raise funds to charge affordable fees and also offer more subsidies. But there is so much more we can do. Based on means testing, some do not qualify for subsidy as these families are not exactly low-income. But some of the elderly and their children do not want to commit to a monthly expenditure of a few hundred dollars and, hence, the elderly end up staying at home. We need more centres and the Government can do more to make them more affordable and offer more subsidies to cater to the changing needs of our population, and prevent longer-term consequences and challenges of an ageing population. I look forward to the Minister's update on the progress we have made in this area and new plans for the future.

Family caregivers

Mr Yeo Guat Kwang (Aljunied): Mr Chairman, Sir, as a country faced with an ageing population and rising rate of chronic illness, our healthcare delivery mode focuses on patients to give them holistic care and help the sick enjoy a high-quality of life and rightly so.

But we must also not forget the caregivers. Very often, a family caregiver's welfare is neglected, not just by the society but the caregiver as well. In our Asian society, family members, particularly the women, are expected to assume a caregiving role when a family member becomes ill. The role is often thrusted upon an individual without little prior warning and not much is done to equip them with the know-how or lifeskill to become an effective caregiver.

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4.00 pm

Sir, caregivers undertake not only financial sacrifice by giving up their jobs but personal psychological sacrifice as well. Caregiving encompasses a wide range of responsibilities including providing physical care, financial support to social, emotional and spiritual support. The stress of caregiving can also take a personal toll on the caregiver, and caregivers have been known to suffer depression or worse.

I applaud the support the VWOs, like the Asian Women Welfare Association Centre for Caregivers, provided for caregivers. I believe if the caregivers are well supported, care recipients will receive the best care and attention as well. So, more should be done by the Government to support family caregivers and address their needs.

There should be more funding to roll out caregiver-focused psychosocial programmes for the family caregivers. Caregivers also need more assistance from agencies, especially in the area of their other family needs. The Government, at the same time, together with the other employers, can also play an important role by being more understanding and giving caregiver's leave to support the caregivers. The Government should set an example with caregiver-friendly HR policies so that the private sector will be compelled to follow.

At the same time, we must look at how we can integrate the Government agencies' support together with that provided by the private sector companies, non-profit organisations and all the VWOs to address the increasing pressing needs of the family caregiver in our society.

Support for caregivers

Mr Chan Soo Sen (Joo Chiat): Mr Chairman, Sir, I want to echo Mr Yeo

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Guat Kwang's support for caregivers. But I just want to project the time 20 years down the road when I will be 75 years old, therefore, I have got a personal interest.

The ageing population and smaller family sizes plus a preference for home care: add all these things up, and it means we need good or very good committed caregivers. Caregivers are indeed unsung heroes in our medical system. Mr Yeo Guat Kwang said, not much attention has been paid to their welfare. For the time being, there are not that many of them. Twenty years down the road, the number will be much higher. It is really a big time bomb waiting to explode, and I want to say my heart especially goes out to those caregivers who care for patients who have got mental problems. If a patient is sick, you nurse the person and he is able to appreciate your efforts. But if there is something wrong with the mind, let us say that the person is suffering from dementia or in a coma, this situation can last a very long time. Over time, the poor fellow does not even recognise the caregiver. The caregiver is a loved one, who loves the person but is not loved by the person and not even recognised by the person. If we add up all these things, it is really an impossible problem to cope with on the part of the caregiver.

At the moment, the emphasis is on caregiver training. We have been focusing on training them to be caregivers. I hope that in the next few years, more emphasis will be given to the care and support for the caregivers – how to offer them emotional support, how to give them counselling support, how to organise programmes to give them some relief from the daily chore of giving care so that at least they may have, say, two or three hours a day to go and do their own things.

Sir, I want to say that this problem of the caregivers, unfortunately, falls in the

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crack between two Ministries. It starts because somebody gets sick. In that sense, it is initiated from the Ministry of Health's portfolio. Then, as the pressures mount, it becomes an MCYS problem with regard to the caregivers. Because it falls within the crack between two big Ministries, my concern always is that the two Ministries are exercising courtesy and think that the other Ministry may solve the problem. Therefore, I want to propose that the Prime Minister's Office organise a taskforce comprising these two Ministries and other bodies to see how we can have a long-term plan to support our caregivers, 20 to 30 years down the road.

Ms Audrey Wong Wai Yen (Nominated Member): Sir, I would like to echo the calls by Mr Chan and Mr Yeo for more support for caregivers.

Very often, the primary responsibility of caregiving for elderly parents falls on one child. This might be a married child with children or single, and increasingly remaining single, or a single parent. The emotional and financial burden is sometimes not fairly distributed among all the siblings. So, is there any means for us to offer more support to the primary carer for the elderly parents?

For instance, have caregiver's leave so that the carer can take the parents to see the doctor in the same way that we have childcare leave. Perhaps an allowance for the primary caregiver, depending on income level. Also, for instance, giving more weightage to the primary carer's financial situation and financial obligations when we calculate the subsidies for healthcare, long-term care, day care, and so on. Here, I would also like to echo Ms Irene Ng's call to review the subsidy caps – the per capita income per household caps for qualification for these subsidies.

I think we need to look into the emotional and psychological well-being of

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these carers as well, as we go into an ageing society.

Mr Laurence Wee Yoke Thong (Nominated Member): Sir, the gist of my topic is that informal caregivers should be given an allowance in view of our rapidly ageing population. The informal caregiver is another group for the Prime Minister's consideration.

As we are aware, with the serious declining fertility rate below replacement level, there is concern that family caregivers will be on the decline. Indeed, it is already bleak, so to speak. This problem will also be compounded by younger family members leaving our shores for employment opportunities or to settle down elsewhere. To address this concern while there is still time or a window of opportunity, may I ask the Government to come up with a financial scheme to provide incentives for informal caregivers, especially from the community, to care for the elderly in the neighbourhood.

Sir, while I acknowledge that the incentives can be in kind as a form of recognition or appreciation, however, monetary incentive is very much preferred. This scheme, together with a comprehensive caregiving training, can be packaged so that it can attract and sustain the informal caregivers on a long-term basis.

May I further suggest, as I had done in my speech on the Budget yesterday, that this allowance be credited into their respective CPF accounts? This will benefit them in their old age and supplement their own precious CPF savings. Sir, we need to recognise that caregiving is indeed a complex issue and the most organised and committed individual will find caregiving a most daunting challenge. Now, let us do

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more for this group of heroes and heroines in our midst.

Miss Penny Low (Pasir Ris-Punggol): Sir, not enough skills and financial strains are all part of caregiving, but the caring of loved ones can also be satisfying, meaningful and part of our ethos. The job of caregiving often falls on the shoulders of those who are perceived to have a lower academic value or on singles, which sometimes results in a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Caregiving is a shared responsibility. We need to create a right legislative and tax framework and supportive environment that makes it easier for the caregivers. Could the Minister consider:

(i) higher tax relief for caregivers, especially singles as they will be faced with the same issues when they are old? Can the child-related tax, leave benefits and community infrastructure be extended to caring for other family members? Disabled and eldercare are not less critical than childcare;

(ii) general subsidies to help family-based caregivers get technological help;

(iii) set up a registry, knowledge-based and support networks for caregivers so that resources and information are readily available;

(iv) a caregiver's toolkit, technology and R&D fund;

(v) caregivers' one-stop hotline number;

(vi) caregivers' drop-in centre;

(vii) caregivers' endowment fund with a matching grant to encourage a mutual fund or insurance concept for both caregivers and those being cared for; and

(viii) intensify condition-specific skill development courses for professional and home-based caregivers.

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Parental care leave

Mr Baey Yam Keng: ( In Mandarin ): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A.] Currently, other than statutory annual leave and maternity leave, companies also allow additional childcare leave. According to MOM's Employment Report 2010, many companies allow other leaves such as compassionate, marriage and paternity leave. However, only 11% of companies allow their employees to take leave to look after their sick parents. Fortunately, this percentage is doubled that of 2008, and this is a rising trend. Most employees have to use their annual leave to take their parents to see the doctor. If their parents are sickly and have to go to hospital often, their annual leave may not be enough.

Our population is ageing and the proportion of elderly people is increasing fast. The family structure in Singapore has also undergone major changes. Families used to have three to four children so the children can take turns to look after the parents and share the responsibilities. Now the family size is smaller, with one or two children, and so, fewer siblings can share the duty of caring for the parents.

Hence, I suggest the Government consider changing the current six-day childcare leave to family leave, so that employees can use it flexibly. Besides caring for children under seven, he can also use it to look after elderly parents, grandparents and parents-in-law above 70 years old. This will help the employee to achieve work-life balance. To prevent employees from abusing this benefit, the employer can ask the employee to show proof, such as receipts from clinics or hospitals.

Employers may be concerned with the rising labour cost because of this flexible leave arrangement. However, I believe the benefits outweigh the cost increase. If he

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achieves work-life balance, he will be happier at work. Thus, his work efficiency will increase. Attrition rate will also drop.

*Cols. 3419-3420.

Assoc. Prof. Paulin Tay Straughan: Sir, as life expectancy continues to improve, Singaporeans now live longer but we also suffer more from chronic ailments that require regular medical attention.

Demographic trends advise that family size is shrinking and about 50% of Singapore households are dual-income. These statistics warn that we can no longer depend on the services of a full-time domestic manager who can take on eldercare responsibilities. So, who will take care of the aged parents with limited mobility? Currently, for those who can afford it, they purchase help through the form of a foreign domestic worker. But for those who cannot, they have to rely on personal leave when they are needed to assist aged parents.

Typically, it is the low-income worker who suffers more as they are in jobs with less benefits and more rigid reporting schedules. I appeal to the Government to legislate the provision of parental care leave to facilitate responsible caregiving and empower Singaporeans to embrace filial piety. To minimise cost to the State, I suggest that this leave can form part of the existing six days of unrecorded leave for childcare. This gesture will be much appreciated by all Singaporeans.

Community Silver Trust fund

The Minister of State, Prime Minister's Office (Mr Heng Chee How): Sir, one aim of the $1 billion Silver Trust fund matching grant is to catalyse philanthrophy and to increase the fund size. I would like to find out more about how the funds will be applied, whether it is towards the cost of services or more to build capabilities.

Sir, the natural inclination of many, when they hear that there is such a big

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sum of money set aside, is to ask that it be deployed towards subsidies. That is, to bring down the cost of current services so as to render them more affordable to users, especially in the light of a growing elderly population.

Sir, I agree that it is very important to develop a system of elderly infrastructure, services and products that is affordable to the average household and to the broad middle. But for this to happen, I think it is equally important to invest in capability and capacity; otherwise, we will be using today's capacity, today's infrastructure, today's strengths and weaknesses in our services and products to address tomorrow's growing needs, and that would be unwise and unsustainable.

Hence, I am of the view that the use of the $1 billion fund should be judiciously apportioned between grants and subsidies on the one hand and capacity and capability investments on the other to cater to our growing elderly population.

In this regard, I would like to ask, besides innovating assistive technologies, which was the example mentioned by the Finance Minister in his Budget Statement, whether the Silver Trust fund would also be used to develop manpower – how to better attract, develop and retain good people to serve in this sector.

To help the elderly age-in-place, home care services demand would also grow. In this connection, it is not just the pricing and affordability but also the quality and availability of such services that would be important not only for the low income but also for the broad middle portion of the population.

I would like to find out whether any part of the Silver Trust fund would be applied towards the ends of capability and capacity building, and how the growth of the sector would be capitalised.

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4.15 pm

The Minister, Prime Minister's Office (Mr Lim Boon Heng): Sir, many Members have spoken. We are on the eve of a major demographic inflexion point for Singapore. Next year will be the year when the first cohort of baby boomers born in 1947 become 65 years old. There are one million baby boomers aged 47 to 64 today. Our rate of ageing will rise from 4% per annum in 2000 to 2011 to 6% per annum from 2012 to 2020. This makes us one of the fastest ageing societies in the world.

It is timely to check how we are preparing for this situation. Are we on track to achieving successful ageing? Ageing is wide ranging. It is and must be the responsibility of every Ministry to consider how it will handle aspects of ageing in its respective portfolio, regardless of whether its purview is in the social, economic or security arena. Some of the questions that have been raised by Members will not be answered by me but by respective Ministries in the Ministries' Committee of Supply (COS).

Yet, at the same time, because it is wide-ranging, ageing has to be coordinated across Government. I have chaired the Ministerial Committee on Ageing since 2007. We have pursued four strategic thrusts to achieve successful ageing for Singapore and for Singaporeans – financial security, active ageing, holistic and affordable healthcare and eldercare, and ageing-in-place.

The spectre of an ageing population looms for many developed countries, characterised by fiscally unsustainable welfare systems and runaway healthcare costs. A Bloomberg article in January this year warns of potential inter-generational conflict in Western Europe, fuelled by perceptions that today’s older generation is impoverishing the next. In the article entitled "Baby Boomers Must Pay for Own

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Elderly Care" published on 17th February in TODAY , Mr Norman Warner, a former UK Health Minister, argues that it is unfair to expect the working population to foot the bill for looking after their parents' generation.

Will we be different? We must be. For if not, then our young may also rebel, one generation after the European youth. Hence, learning what not to do, we must ensure fiscal sustainability in all we do. Each generation must earn and save with the entire life cycle in mind. While children should support their aged parents, we should take care not to impose too heavy a burden on them. Several Members have alluded to the demographic shifts, like Mr Baey Yam Keng. Indeed, our Singaporean way, which reflects our Asian values, goes further. If a generation is fortunate enough to enjoy prosperity as has been the case with the current old and baby boomers, we set aside reserves for the next.

Now that I have laid down our fundamental fiscal principle in ageing, let me outline the progress we have made in each strategic thrust. We have enhanced financial adequacy in old age through CPF LIFE and the HDB Lease Buy-Back scheme. But, for most of us, financial adequacy must depend on us continuing to work. Mr Carlos Slim, a leading Mexican businessman, pointed out in an interview with the Sunday Telegraph that today’s retirement age is still based on life expectancy 50 years ago! In the 1960s, our life expectancy was only 65 years old. Today, it is 82 years old, one of the highest in the world. Our life expectancy is similar to Japan but already ahead of many developed countries like United States of America, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. We may also have more centenarians as has happened in Japan. How can we expect to retire and fund another 20 to 30 years solely based on past savings?

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Mr Slim goes on to highlight that "in a society based on physical work, you had to retire young. Today, we are a knowledge-based society, and people are retiring when they are in their best mental state – most experienced, most trained." Singapore has transformed itself to become a knowledge and service economy. Mr Slim's observations apply to us.

The Minister, Prime Minister's Office (Mr Lim Boon Heng): 4.27 pm

I share Ms Denise Phua's views that we need to help our seniors work longer for as long as they can, and at the pace they want. Re-employment will take effect from 2012. Older people need not necessarily be re-employed in the same job, on the same pay or at the same pace. For older people who need jobs, the CDCs provide employment services for job seekers and seniors could use these services as a job clearing house, including looking for part-time jobs. I think it is not necessary to incur more administrative costs by setting up a separate infrastructure for this purpose.

A Ministry of Manpower's survey showed that 92% of employees reaching 62 in June 2009 were allowed to continue to work. The 2010 Labour Force Survey found that the employment rate for those aged 55 to 64 had risen to 59% in 2010, up significantly from 54% in 2006, notwithstanding the recent downturn. We must strive to achieve our target of 65%. More will be said on this in the COS debate on the Ministry of Manpower.

Ms Denise Phua and Mdm Cynthia Phua have commented on our second strategic thrust, which is Active Ageing. Since its inception in 2007, the Council

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for Third Age (C3A) has promoted active ageing with an emphasis on lifelong learning and an inter-generational approach. C3A has disbursed more than $9 million of the GO! Fund to over 90 community projects, benefitting some 400,000 seniors. Indeed, in response to Ms Denise Phua, volunteerism and nurturing programmes for seniors to be able to contribute back to society is one of the areas of focus of the GO! Fund. This year, C3A will implement the $20 million Active Ageing Capability Fund to further develop sector capability in active ageing. The people that the Member knows, can apply for this fund.

Complementing C3A is the Wellness Programme. In 2008, we asked People’s Association (PA) to pilot the Wellness Programme in 12 constituencies. In 2010, we rolled it out to 42 constituencies which covers half of Singapore. I am heartened at how far the Wellness Programme has enhanced neighbourliness among seniors. In a pre- and post-test study done over a 12-month period, over 40% of seniors made more than 10 new friends in the community while 36% got to know more than 10 neighbours. An ageing society needs such social capital. Neighbours can mutually support one another and be of great help in an emergency.

Let me share the story of 59-year-old Mdm Chew Kwi Yang from Radin Mas. She used to keep largely to herself. After joining the Wellness Programme, she started a herb garden and formed an interest group. In late 2009, Mdm Chew checked herself into the hospital as she was not feeling well. She did not inform anybody, including her family. When the other seniors did not see her at her usual activities, they got worried and contacted her family. It was only then that Mdm Chew’s family discovered that she was in

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hospital. This is why the Wellness Programme is important.

The Wellness Programme also encourages seniors to be responsible for their own health. Nineteen thousand seniors have gone for health screening. Many are starting to exercise more regularly, which is necessary for maintaining good health, and keeping socially active. Mr Heng Chee How will update us on the achievements of the Seniors for Physical Activity Committee later.

In response to Mdm Cynthia Phua – she has a list of what seniors want – I agree that the Wellness Programme should be in the residents' neighbourhood and not in a centre far away. The Wellness Programme, in case there is some misunderstanding, should be implemented at the Residents' Committee (RC) level. Every RC should have a Wellness Programme. This will make it convenient for seniors to participate.

Let me turn to the third strategic thrust on holistic and affordable healthcare and eldercare. At least eight MPs, including NMPs – Mr Baey Yam Keng, Mr Chan Soo Sen, Mr Yeo Guat Kwang, Ms Irene Ng, Miss Penny Low, Assoc. Prof. Paulin Tay Straughan, Mr Laurence Wee and Ms Audrey Wong – have expressed their views. Let me explain what we have done by covering four key aspects: information, referral and case management, care services, caregiver support; and funding of long-term care.

First, we have made some improvements in the information and referral service for seniors and families. The Centre for Enabled Living (CEL) and the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) were set up in 2008 under MCYS and MOH respectively to fulfil these roles. CEL is a first-stop information and referral centre for persons needing care. AIC helps patients prepare for discharge from acute

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care and will refer them to stepdown or home-care services, where necessary. The two agencies work closely together and they are located side-by-side. Mr Chan Soo Sen’s worry of something going awry – that problem is recognised and is being addressed. There is cross-representation of board members of the two agencies. Last year, CEL implemented a case management service for seniors known as the Assessment and Coordination for Enabling (ACE). More than 200 seniors have benefited. One example is Mr Quek Poey Khiang and his wife, Mdm Goh, both in their 70s. Mdm Goh has epilepsy, dementia, hypertension and osteoarthritis of her knees. Following her hospitalisation in 2010, the ACE manager referred home-help services to Mdm Goh while encouraging Mr Quek in his caregiver role. After six months, Mr Quek and Mdm Goh were discharged from ACE successfully. They can now cope with their daily routine. They have been introduced to a Seniors Activity Centre (SAC) and visit it every week to enjoy the activities there. If Members know of cases where they do not know where to turn to, refer them to CEL who will then do the necessary and get them on the right path.

Next, let me discuss the progress we are making in home and community eldercare. In 2009, I announced that MCYS will build six new day care centres over five years. I am happy to say that two new centres have been completed. MCYS and MOH have also worked jointly on a pilot with three day care centres to make them dementia-friendly. In addition, AIC has piloted day centres for seniors who are nursing-home eligible.

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MCYS and MOH are also enhancing at-home support through Home Help, Home Medical and Home Nursing services. CEL has worked with Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society on a Rent-a-Care Helper pilot. The VWO hires care workers

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and deploys them to low-income seniors who cannot afford to have foreign domestic workers but need regular home help support. The pilot started in October 2010. As of 31st December 2010, there are seven care workers serving some 50 clients. So, it is a development that we are watching to see whether it can be scaled up.

Now, let me turn to caregiver support on which several Members have spoken on, including Mr Baey Yam Keng and Assoc. Prof. Paulin Tay Straughan. Almost all have asked for leave for eldercare. While the concept is popular, it is a complex issue. Employers will have concerns about costs. I asked one employer, "If you can grant childcare leave, why don't you agree to grant eldercare leave?" The response was, "A child grows up after so many years. We don't know how long the elderly person will continue to live." So, it reflects the calculations in the minds of employers which we should not take lightly.

We should take the same approach as we have done with the retirement age. We need to engage in dialogue and consultation, and not rush matters. At the same time, employees and their unions can negotiate with employers for such leave. Some employers already do so. When more employers grant such leave, then reaching a national consensus will be easier because, by then, the worries of employers about the costs would ease.

Families today can enjoy tax relief of up $11,000 as well as a foreign domestic worker levy concession if they look after their elderly parents. Mr Laurence Wee and Miss Penny Low have asked for more financial support, in particular, caregiver allowances to acknowledge the stress and sacrifices made by family caregivers. While this is tempting, we must ask ourselves if we will unwittingly monetise family obligations and love if we give caregiver allowances.

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Instead of caregiver allowances, we have focused on caregiver training and support programmes. CEL has given seed funding to NTUC Eldercare and Touch Community Services to pilot the training of family caregivers and foreign domestic workers. Families and maids who go for such training can qualify for the Caregiver Training Grant. More than 1,600 caregivers for seniors have benefited from this grant. About half of them were family caregivers, and the remainder were maids. CEL is also raising awareness that day care centres do offer respite care, and there is also growing availability of home-help services.

We should uphold the virtue of filial piety. Our current older generation has sacrificed and worked hard to provide the younger generation with better education and skills. We must look after our parents, emotionally and financially.

This is why we must preserve the principle of means-testing, which is based on family income. I agree with Ms Irene Ng that affordability of care services is important. We have adopted the approach of means-testing to ensure that the lower income and less fortunate will receive help. This will help low-income seniors to access help.

Unfortunately, a small minority shirk their responsibilities to support their parents. We have amended the Maintenance of Parents Act last year to enable the Tribunal and Commissioner for Maintenance of Parents to better help such parents obtain support from their children. With respect to the case cited by Ms Irene Ng, I would suggest that this be referred to the relevant CDC for holistic case management because listening to her, there are some help programmes which may or may not have been accessed.

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We have made good progress in piloting eldercare services and caregiver support services with VWOs. So, the $1 billion Community Silver Trust is a very timely and opportune initiative. The Trust underscores Government's commitment to build capability in the intermediate and long-term care sector. It also signals the vital role that the community can play. We hope the community will respond generously to the dollar-for-dollar matching.

I fully share Mr Heng Chee How's apprehension that some think that the $1 billion should be used to subsidise long-term care, in the mistaken belief that this will make for cheaper care. I must caution we will use up the $1 billion Trust very quickly if we use it for broad-based non-means-tested subsidies. This is not sustainable. Such subsidies also reduce the financial discipline of the service providers. They can become less, and not more, cost-conscious. Costs therefore could go up.

To ensure that the Community Silver Trust is put to good use to deliver long-term care services, it should focus on the following key areas.

Firstly, it should enable VWOs to widen the range, scale and quality of intermediate and long-term care services across the socio-healthcare continuum. If VWOs can expand to reach a critical mass, we can improve quality while containing costs, and here in the light of the productivity drive that we are trying to make, it applies also to this sector. I think today the costs are high because we are not efficient. If VWOs can also innovate, use technology and re-engineer processes to increase productivity, they can further contain costs. These are sustainable ways to make long-term care cost affordable, as opposed to asking for more subsidies.

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Secondly, as Mr Heng has rightly pointed out, manpower development is another key area as, ultimately, the quality of any care service depends on the calibre of the staff. VWOs need to invest in their staff. Unless they are adequately remunerated, we are not going to get the quality of staff needed for this sector.

Thirdly, it is important for VWOs to build up organisational capability to attract quality management that can develop and implement viable service models that make VWOs mission-effective. If we take this approach, I am confident that we will make good use of the $1 billion under the Community Silver Trust, and MCYS and MOH are working out the details. I expect the Trust to be implemented later this year.

In addition, MOF has announced that the Government will allocate $10 million a year for low-income seniors to obtain mobility aids such as wheelchairs and the like, something that Miss Penny Low was asking for. I will leave MOH to share the details of this grant.

Let me now turn to our final thrust to enable ageing-in-place. We are on track on the hardware side in terms of barrier-free accessibility and the lift upgrading programme. As important is the software. What we are doing to expand at-home and community care will help seniors age-in-place successfully.

However, there is a vulnerable group of poor seniors with weak family support who face the risk of social isolation. Senior Activity Centres (SACs) serve as a first-touch point where these seniors can receive social support, participate in activities and meet other seniors. MCYS is developing SACs into community nodes that support vulnerable seniors and will expand SACs from the 28 today to 55 in five years. Nine were built in the past two years. We are also taking steps to support seniors within the community – seniors

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who might otherwise be institutionalised. MCYS, CEL and NTUC Eldercare will embark on a communal housing pilot for poor single and frail seniors. The seniors provide mutual support and help one another. NTUC Eldercare will hire a caretaker on their behalf to keep a lookout for them. The caretaker will work with the nearby SAC to coordinate services the seniors might require.

Beyond the poor and the vulnerable, MCYS is piloting integrated services for seniors in studio apartments. A seniors service centre at the Golden Jasmine Studio Apartments in Bishan has been successfully tendered out to China Healthcare. The centre provides health talks, games, physiotherapy and houses a Traditional Chinese Medicine clinic. Residents are also supported by staff who will respond to emergency calls made by residents. MCYS has called for similar tenders at three studio apartment sites. The response from the commercial sector has been positive. We anticipate that the look, feel and shape of these centres will end up being slightly different. But certain features – a space to mix, mingle and make friends, plus free referral and information services – will be common. This will help to strengthen the community of neighbours in the block even as they age within the wider precinct.

I will now speak on two major new initiatives under the Ministerial Committee for Ageing. They are the City for All Ages Project and the Marine Parade Pilot.

The first is the City for All Ages Project. It marks the next major milestone in preparing our society for ageing. It builds upon and pulls together our efforts and achievements over the last few years, especially with regard to ageing in place. It also takes cognisance of the World Health Organization's statement that population ageing and urbanisation are the two global trends that will shape the 21st

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century. Major cities of the developed world already have more seniors while, in Asia, the elderly comprise some 10% to 15% of the population in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong. It is over 20% in Tokyo.

The City for All Ages Project aims for sustainable and affordable urban solutions for ageing. It will address three challenges – the first of which is a "liveable" built environment for seniors. Let me explain what we mean by "liveability". It goes beyond being barrier-free. It goes beyond universal design. "Liveability" takes into account the socio-psychological needs of older people, including the need for familiarity, sense of place, sense of safety and convenience. Let me illustrate one aspect of "liveability" which is to be pedestrian-friendly. In Copenhagen, architects and urban planners have progressively pedestrianised the city centre since 1962. Since the introduction of these measures, public life in the city centre has increased by four times.

A second challenge that the City for All Ages will address is how to help seniors age actively and age in place. We will pay special attention to the spaces for social interaction as well as community-based eldercare services and facilities.

The third challenge that the City for All Ages will address is the integration of the hardware and the software, especially with regard to eldercare services. This includes the business models needed to support ageing-in-place.

We have four key limbs to the City for All Ages Project. The first is to promote Policy-Practitioner Academic research and collaboration. The second is to plan for social spaces that older people need so that they can thrive in a "liveable" environment. We will also enhance the planning and design of community-based

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care services to better integrate with the built environment.

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Thirdly, we will encourage the commercialisation and adoption of age-friendly products and solutions. Together with EDB, HDB and MOH, we will develop a Silver Community Test Bed Programme to test solutions. Let me cite the case of Khoo Teck Puat Hospital's Able Studio to illustrate why commercialisation works. Able Studio is a one-stop solutions store for people who need assistance in activities of daily living. Able Studio had two earlier predecessors. The first at Alexandra Hospital was largely a showroom with no commercial element. Even though it showcased good ideas, not many people visited it. The second at Jurong Medical Centre was still largely a showroom but with a small retail component. It fared better. In contrast, Able Studio at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital is largely a retail space with a small showroom. It has a lot more visitors. Why? Because Singaporeans are a pragmatic lot – we want solutions we can buy and use immediately. Building on what we have learnt from Able Studio, MCYS, C3A and the relevant agencies are working on a "functional home" idea – one that looks at how to bring commercial elder-friendly home retrofitting solutions to seniors and their families.

The fourth limb of this project is to promote Singapore as a global centre of excellence on ageing. This serves to build up human capital in Singapore and place us thought leaders on urban solutions for ageing.

The City for All Ages project will be a multi-agency effort undertaken by MCYS, MND, HDB, URA, Centre for Liveable Cities, EDB and SPRING. A project office for this purpose will be created.

I turn to the next one, which is the Marine Parade Pilot. Senior Minister Goh

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Chok Tong announced the multi-agency pilot at Marine Parade last December. The Marine Parade Pilot is a project for ageing-in-place at the town level under the City for All Ages Project. It will study the hardware, software and planning strategies needed to better serve the needs of an ageing community.

Marine Parade estate was chosen as the pilot site because more than 20% of its total population are already 65 and above today. This Pilot is important because it will help all policy makers design cost-effective measures to improve the quality of life and well-being of seniors, and to extend such measures, if successful, to other towns in Singapore.

The pilot will be conducted in phases. Phase One consists of a bottom-up evaluation of the needs and interaction between older residents, their caregivers and service providers in the estate. The evaluation will be conducted through a Needs Assessment Survey, Ground Audits and Focus Group Discussions. The Pilot is currently in its first phase. While the pilot is primarily targeted at seniors and their families, residents will also benefit from a more vibrant, active and inclusive community.

Sir, we are making good progress to meet the needs of our ageing population. If we succeed with the City for All Ages Project and learn from the Marine Parade Pilot, Singapore will be a home that all of us want to grow old in. We can look forward to a happy, healthy and active ageing.

Mr Heng Chee How: Sir, the Minister had earlier given an update on the Wellness Programme and Ms Denise Phua had also spoken about the Wellness Programme. I would like to give the House an update on the work of the Committee for Seniors for Physical Activity (SPA) to encourage physical activity which I chair.

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This Committee has thus far launched three mass platforms to encourage active participation in exercise amongst the seniors, and these are briskwalking, taichi and qigong . We chose these exercises for three main reasons. Firstly, because of their mass local appeal, many people are already doing so and, therefore, we know that there is a local interest in it, and it is easier to promote. Secondly, there is good scientific basis for choosing them. They have merits in terms of promoting strength or flexibility, cardiovascular, fitness as well as balance. And, thirdly, because they offer low barriers to entry. Briskwalking, for example, does not need expensive equipment. Similarly, learning taichi and qigong is not expensive.

For qigong and taichi , professional trainers have broken down the complex exercise routines into more easily understandable and digestible doses. For example, the Singapore Wushu Federation, which is a partner on this Committee, developed a set of taichi called "Tai Chi for All" which is a simplified 13-step sequence as opposed to the typical 100-odd step taichi sequence. So it makes it a lot more accessible. These exercises are also "social" in nature because if neighbours and friends come together to do it, it is more fun and you can keep it up longer. Therefore, peer support is being tapped upon as a critical impetus to bring seniors together to exercise regularly and to sustain that exercise.

We also used high point events in the People's Association (PA), for example, the One Community Walk, to encourage participation. Over 85,000 participants took part in briskwalking at 75 locations island-wide in 2010. We increased outreach capability by leveraging on the PA's grassroots network. PA is also catalysing the formation of interest groups at the RC level. This is especially with respect to taichi and qigong. Because for briskwalking, when groups are formed,

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they can do other social activities together. Whereas for taichi and qigong , having learnt your steps, you do need to go the extra mile of having groups formed, otherwise it may just fizzle out.

We also focused on capability building. We built up a pool of trainers. For example, the Qigong Shi Ba Shi Association trained 170 instructors so that they, in turn, may train other leaders in the community. And the Health Promotion Board (HPB) trained 851 lay leaders to instruct in proper briskwalking for maximum fitness. We equipped green spaces with additional supporting amenities. For example, HPB and NParks have worked together and introduced 10 briskwalking trails across the CDCs.

I want to take this opportunity therefore to acknowledge the hard work put in by all our partner agencies and also the grassroots organisations. To date, some 500 briskwalking clubs have been formed, and together they have about 90,000 briskwalkers. Close to 2,000 participants, for example, joined in a mass display during the taichi launch. For qigong , as of January this year, there is a total of 86 qigong clubs with 7,000 members. So we can see that the platforms are indeed able to reach out to the broad base of our population and are growing.

Seventy-four-year-old Mr Goh Chin Yong exemplifies what our Committee sets out to achieve. At every check-up, the doctor would praise him for being in excellent health. He has been participating in the North West Health Qigong Clubs at Sembawang Zone "E" Residents' Committee for the past five years. Mr Goh reveals that he has made many friends and introduced many other friends through this regular exercise of qigong .

Sir, in the next phase, we are going to move beyond community platforms and

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also work on workplace platforms. The reason for that is because more and more of us are going to work for a longer span of time, and we are spending a significant amount of our waking hours at work as well. Therefore, if we can complement the efforts in the community with efforts at the workplace, then we could achieve even more.

The second National Tripartite Committee on Workplace Health has published their recommendations in November 2010. These are therefore being implemented by the respective agencies. SPA sees that we can work together with this National Tripartite Committee, MOM, MOH and also the union network, to reach out to and promote active exercising amongst the senior population, also in the workplace.

The SPA will share training capabilities and our pool of qualified trainers with the Tripartite Committee and the networks. Also, we will transfer our experiences and expertise in promoting and sustaining interest through the use of social groups and peer support and see how this could be used to catalyse similar groups in the workplace.

Third, we will help companies to see how their work and surrounding environment can be adjusted to better encourage workers to exercise regularly.

Sir, it is our hope that by targeting our efforts in both the community and in the work environment, more seniors will exercise so that they can stay active and healthy.

The Chairman: We have some time for clarifications. Mdm Halimah.

Mdm Halimah Yacob: Sir, I have two clarifications to ask of Minister Lim Boon Heng. The Minister mentioned the importance of ageing-in-place and I

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completely agree with him. In this regard, I would like to ask the Minister, as a part of extension of that idea of ageing-in-place, whether Government will consider extending the foreign domestic worker levy relief to singles because the idea is to try and keep the older people in the community and at home. If we provide relief to married women but we do not provide relief to singles who are taking care of the elderly sick parents at home, then it is really not encouraging ageing-in-place or taking care of the elderly sick at home or in the community.

The second point I would like to ask is: the Minister has mentioned that 42 constituencies already have the Wellness Centres, and the timeline for the remaining 42 constituencies will be in 2012. Considering the rapid pace at which ageing is taking place and the need to do something quickly and that a Wellness Centre is something that is not very difficult to set up, I think, in terms of resources, it will not be a tremendous impact on the Government, could I ask the Minister whether the Government could advance the establishment of the Wellness Centres to the other 42 constituencies from the 2012 deadline to earlier, if possible by this year? I think that will be really wonderful.

Mr Lim Boon Heng: On the first question on foreign domestic worker levy relief for single women who are looking after their aged parents, I think that question should be addressed to the Minister for Manpower and the Ministry of Finance.

On the second question about the Wellness Programme, it is not just a question of whether we want to do it or we do not want to do it at one go. It is a question of whether we can get the resources to do it correctly. So, we started off with a pilot and learned the

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lessons from there. We then know that we need to marshal the resources to be able to roll out to the rest of the constituencies. So we have not gone through the rest of Singapore but only to half of the constituencies because of the resources that are needed and to make sure that the people who are employed to run these Wellness Programmes can do it well, rather than have a mass recruitment with improperly trained people and then do a job that is not so satisfactory. But we will try to do it as fast as we can.

Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong: I would like to ask the Minister three questions if I may. First, is on eldercare leave and parental care leave. Sir, I understand the concerns of employers about the business costs, but there is also a social cost to be paid in not providing for this eldercare leave or family-care leave. Given our ageing population and the increasing demands at work, can I ask the Minister whether the Government is itself convinced of the need to provide for such leave given the changing demographics? And if it is, then should the Government not take the lead in providing it rather than wait for the private sector employers to have negotiations with the unions on this matter?

My second question is on the means-test. Is the Minister aware that MOH's restructured hospitals have quite a simplified criteria for means-testing and it does not include the gross income of all family members of the elderly? So we have an anomaly where if I am an elderly and I go to an acute and restructured hospital for care, and then when I am transferred for long-term care to an eldercare centre, I have to do means-testing twice. I would qualify for the one in hospital but I may not qualify for the one in day-care. Can the Minister consider streamlining it and adopting a common set of criteria for MOH and MCYS' day-care centres?

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My final point is to clarify about the single caregiver that I cited. She would not qualify for financial assistance from CDCs or other sources because she is in the middle-income group. Therefore, I raise this point about subsidies pegged to the median income as well as a request for a foreign maid levy relief which Mdm Halimah has also brought up because it will then apply to all, regardless of their income.

Mr Lim Boon Heng: For eldercare leave, this is desirable for those who are affected. But whether we can convince employers that the cost which they should bear is something which we cannot take lightly. That is the point of my speech. So, my suggestion is we should allow employees and unions to negotiate with their employers for such leave. I am aware that some employers already grant such leave. It is a process of forging a national consensus. In the case of the retirement age, the Government did not simply legislate because it is desirable. If you recall, in the past, we actually went through a long period of time before legislation on the retirement age was enacted and this was after some work on the ground before it was finally done. Now, I think people recognise the need to raise the retirement age but, even so, to raise it every year is a process that requires concensus-building. Likewise, I think that for elder care leave, it is an item that falls into the same category.

As for the means test and the different criteria adopted by MOH and MCYS, it is a goal we are working towards. In fact, this is something which is occupying the minds of the staff at the present moment – how to reconcile the two different systems. With respect to the relief, please ask the Minister for Finance.

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Mdm Cynthia Phua: Mr Chairman, I would like to ask the Minister on the Wellness Programme. We understand that there is this programme. We would like to get the RCs to join them and to encourage the RCs to work together on this Wellness Programme. But I am thinking more in terms of a centre. The elderly needs a centre but currently the RC centres are very compact in terms of their use by the adults and children having tuition classes there. Maybe MCYS and the PMO could really look into these RC centres to see whether they could incorporate some of the needs of the elderly in these centres as well, like an extra area for karaoke or even mahjong . This area should be quiet and enclosed because the elderly sing loudly as they cannot hear very well. So these are the "conflicting" uses in RC centres that we need for them.

The Chairman: It sounds like another request. Any clarifications? Mr Lim.

Mr Lim Boon Heng: There are many requests for many things. But one of the messages that I passed to advisers to grassroots organisations or the grassroots leaders is that in our communities there are many facilities which can be used and we need not think that everything should be centred in one particular place. So, if we make better use of the existing facilities, a lot more things can be done.

I would like to relate that I visited Helsinki last October. I went to one community that is in part of Helsinki where there is an active ageing association. There are six apartment blocks and a number of seniors living there. This is not a retirement village; it was built in the 1960s and people grew old together and so you have a significant number of seniors. They do not have a RC centre, they do not have any financing from the government, but they organise themselves into an association and they use their own living rooms for the different activities which they carry out.

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So, let us think out of the box. We do not always need to use the RC centres. Sometimes, if we feel comfortable with it, we should be able to invite our neighbours to come to our homes to play mahjong .

The Chairman: May I request Members not to make more requests but to just seek clarifications. Mr Laurence Wee.

Mr Laurence Wee Yoke Thong: I thank the Minister very much for the comprehensive work, especially the Council for Third Age, and also highlighting the baby-boomers. I was thinking beyond the baby-boomers. What is the Minister's perspective on setting up a Council for the Fourth Age?

Mr Lim Boon Heng: For those who wonder what the Fourth Age is, it is basically the last couple of years of your life when you are afflicted by, perhaps, chronic illnesses and therefore need to be cared for. I think that there is no need for a Council for the Fourth Age per se, but there are things that we need to do for this sector and I think those issues would be addressed in the Committee of Supply for Ministry of Health.

Assoc. Prof. Paulin Tay Straughan: Sir, may I follow up on Ms Irene Ng's very brilliant question, and that is to appeal to the Civil Service to set the trend to facilitate filial piety in action?

Mr Lim Boon Heng: Sure, the Civil Service is hearing what the Member is saying. But, at the same time, there is nothing to prevent your union from negotiating with the employer.

Assoc. Prof. Paulin Tay Straughan: We do not have a union!

Mr Lim Boon Heng: You should have! [ Laughter. ]

Mr Zaqy Mohamad: Mr Chairman, I thank Deputy Prime Minister Wong for his reply to my cut. I agree with the Deputy

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Prime Minister that the motives behind setting up families should not be about bonuses and money, but I was also suggesting more money to procreate because of Government subsidies. We need to have the faith that most parents start with the baseline that they want to have the best for their children. That is one of the reasons why they limit the number of children they have because they want to maximise their resources for each.

So the issue we have is that many of them have different benchmarks in terms of what we need to give and what is necessary to raise them. Our measures should also include not just the hard aspects but also the soft aspects – how do we break this psychological barrier that raising children is not really that expensive and you know that the Government is being supportive?

The Chairman: Deputy Prime Minister, do you wish to respond? No need to? Okay. Miss Penny Low.

Miss Penny Low: Thank you, Mr Chairman. I want to reiterate the point that while childcare is important, disabled care and eldercare is equally important and, therefore, can the Minister seriously reconsider getting the Civil Service to take the lead? Also, the various Ministries to come together to consider fungible benefits relating to tax relief, leave benefits and community infrastructure, which is currently being undertaken by the wellness centre. Make it fungible so that whether you are taking leave for children, disabled siblings, disabled spouses or senior family members, it could be done. That is the first clarification.

Secondly, the Minister mentioned that I asked for cash allowances for caregivers. I have not actually asked for that. I asked for matching grant for a caregiver's endowment fund, so that we

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can create a mutual fund, based on insurance concept, to look after the caregivers who might have exhausted their resources, or those who are being cared for because they could outlive the caregivers.

Mr Lim Boon Heng: We will study her suggestion.

Mr Baey Yam Keng: I would like to ask the Minister this – no employer would be interested to take on a higher burden by giving more leave, but when we mandated the extension of the maternity leave and childcare leave, I believe the Government is paying for the extra days and months of leave offered to employees. If the Government is interested in providing parental care leave in Singapore, could the Government also consider paying for this benefit which is an extra burden on the employers?

May I also ask the Minister to clarify the role of PMO in coordinating elderly issues when many of the elderly issues need to be directed to MOM, MOF or MOH, I think we also need to give backbenchers clarity on how we can advance such discussion.

Mr Lim Boon Heng: I shall address the second point first. When it is clearly an item for a Ministry, a Member should address that question to that Ministry because that Ministry is also responsible for that even if it is related to ageing. Otherwise, all the questions on ageing will come to the Minister for Ageing, who will age faster by going to all the Ministries for the answers.

On the first question, the principle really is: do we go forward with parental care leave? The point on whether the Government pays for it or the employers pay for it, I think a national consensus still

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has to be reached. So we have not come to that point of reaching the consensus yet.

Mdm Cynthia Phua: Mr Chairman, I would like to clarify with the Minister whether the Wellness Programme applies to the private residential estates as well.

Mr Lim Boon Heng: The Wellness Programme applies to all estates. In the pilot project, we deliberately chose 12 pilot sites to reflect different mixes. For example, we chose Ulu Pandan, which has a lot of private estates. When we asked the people in Ulu Pandan to do it, they thought that they would have a difficult time, but they have found ways to reach out to the seniors in the private estates very successfully. So it applies to all.

Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong: Sir, the Minister said that there should be a national consultation on the need for eldercare or parental care leave. Can I ask the Minister whether the consultation could start immediately so that we can get going on that?

The other question is basically on the argument that the Minister gave that employers said that childcare leave is different from eldercare leave because for childcare, you can predict that the children will grow up whereas for the elderly, you are not sure how long they will live. But actually the argument should be turned upside down because for children, it is very predictable because you know that they will probably live to their adulthood at least but, for the elderly, you are not sure exactly when they might pass from the world. Some of them passed on quite early. We know of friends who passed on in their 50s or even younger. So can the Minister persuade employers that such an argument is really not tenable, but the more important issue is more a fundamental one – whether we need to

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provide for such leave because of an ageing population, which is quite unprecedented.

Mr Lim Boon Heng: The process has already started. We are already debating this issue in Parliament. The unions have taken up the issue with the management. I know and I am aware of that. So, let the process take its course. If the Member wants it to go faster, volunteer her services either to the employers or the unions so that she can move it a little bit faster as she would like it to do.

The Chairman: Mr Zaqy Mohamad, would you like to withdraw the amendment?

Mr Zaqy Mohamad: Mr Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to close the session. I just want to thank Deputy Prime Minister Wong, Deputy Prime Minister Teo and Mr Lim Boon Heng for their enlightening speeches and clarifications. I would also like to thank Members for their various cuts, ranging from baby issues all the way to seniors; not forgetting as well members and staff of the PMO for all the background work they have done to make this whole session comprehensive.

With that, Mr Chairman, Sir, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

The sum of $312,476,700 for Head U ordered to stand part of the Main estimates.

The sum of $35,120,300 for Head U ordered to stand part of the Development estimates.