ENABLING MASTERPLAN FOR THE DISABILITY SECTOR AND OPEN DOOR FUND/ENABLE FUND

ENABLING MASTERPLAN FOR THE DISABILITY SECTOR AND OPEN DOOR FUND/ENABLE FUND

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(Update on progress and implementation): **

32.

Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng asked the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports (a) if he can give an update on the progress on the list of recommendations proposed in the Enabling Masterplan for the Disability Sector submitted this year; and (b) whether an annual update can be made to the House on such progress.

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33.

Dr Fatimah Lateef asked the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports since the implementation of the Open Door Fund/Enable Fund in July 2006 where

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companies are encouraged to employ persons with disabilities, how many companies have qualified or tapped on the Fund.

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan: I would like to take both Parliamentary Questions together.

The Enabling Masterplan Committee put up 31 recommendations to the Government for the disability sector. The recommendations covered issues in early intervention, education, employment, caregiver support, and care for persons with disabilities in their adult years.

The key recommendation of the Enabling Masterplan was the call for an integrated, inter-ministry approach to disability issues. Thus, the first recommendation we have accepted is the set up of an inter-ministry Standing Committee on Disability (SCD) to address disability issues holistically. The Committee will report to the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports. It will be chaired by my Permanent Secretary, and will include senior officers from the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Manpower, Ministry of Health, and other relevant ministries and public sector agencies.

The Standing Committee will set policy directions holistically, develop feasible strategies and look into the resource planning for the sector. The Standing Committee will also engage the people sector on their views so that VWOs can continue to play a key role in the implementation of disability services.

A clear priority area that emerged from the Enabling Masterplan was that employment for the disabled should be improved. It would enable them to integrate into society and be independent. Thus, we have focused on employment to start with. I shall elaborate further.

This is also in response to Dr Fatimah Lateef's, Member for Marine Parade GRC, question on the ENABLE Fund. My Ministry has been working with the Singapore Workforce Development Agency. This Fund was set up in July 2006. The Fund aimed to encourage employers to employ persons with disabilities. The ENABLE Fund was open to employers who hired four or more persons with disabilities. Up to end April 2007, 11 companies have tapped on the Fund, with 58 workers benefiting from it.

In February this year, the Enabling Masterplan Committee recommended three enhancements to the ENABLE Fund. First, employers need not employ four new persons with disabilities to qualify as existing employees with disabilities can be counted in the tally of four. Second, companies that outsource jobs to disabled persons can tap on the Fund. Third, the Fund can be used to provide employment support, such as engaging a job coach. The Committee also suggested renaming the Fund as the Open Door Fund.

My Ministry has accepted all the recommendations. The Open Door Fund was launched on 1st May 2007. The Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) has informed me that so far, 10 companies have committed to hire 41 persons with disabilities. Of these, 19 are already employed. SNEF is also actively promoting the Open Door Fund through brochures and posters to SNEF member companies.

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Together with the National Council of Social Service, MCYS also co-funds Bizlink, which is the central agency for job placement for persons with disabilities. Bizlink has been successful in placing out up to 250 persons with disabilities annually. To date, they have matched up to 4,900 job placements. In addition, another 1,300 are employed at sheltered workshops at the various Voluntary Welfare Organisations.

In addition, employers have also taken the lead to promote the employment of persons with disabilities. The Enabling Employers, a people-sector group led by Mr David Wong, Chief Executive and Managing Director of ABN AMRO Bank, South-east Asia, is supportive of the business case of employing persons with disabilities. Last month, David led his team of employers on a visit to Holiday Inn Park View hotel, which employs 15 persons with disabilities to showcase their capabilities. David has also planned for more activities in the coming months.

I am confident that with the Enabling Employers' efforts, as well as with the support from caregivers and the public, more employers will be encouraged to come forward to give persons with disabilities a chance in employment.

My Ministry, together with MOE and the National Council of Social Service (NCSS), are already working with Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board (SPRING) Singapore and National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) Learning Hub, and selected Special Education Schools, to come up with training facilities and apprenticeship programmes to equip students with disabilities with the necessary skillsets for employment.

On the education front, in line with the Enabling Masterplan Committee's recommendation, MOE had announced at this year's Committee of Supply that children in special education, who have been assessed as being able to follow a curriculum leading to the 'O' or 'N' levels or pre-vocational certification, may have their education funded up to 21 years of age, up from the current 18 years of age.

My Ministry, MOM and NCSS are also working together on the Enabling Masterplan Committee's recommendation to implement the foreign domestic worker levy concession for families or disabled persons with issues with activities of daily living such as bathing, feeding, and so forth. Our original timeline for implementation was November 2007. I am pleased to say that we can now bring forward this deadline to 15th September 2007.

Last but not least, the Ministry of National Development (MND) has just proposed changes to the Code on Barrier Free Accessibility to make the built environment more conducive to persons with disabilities, the elderly, and families with young children. Besides strengthening the accessibility within buildings, particular attention is paid to improving the connectivity between buildings and from buildings to nearby facilities such as transport nodes and parks. These are important steps towards better meeting the needs of the disabled community. BCA has also set up a $40 million fund to subsidise private sector building owners for the provision of basic accessibility features.

The Standing Committee will deliberate on the other recommendations made by the Enabling Masterplan. We have made progress. To date, 11 recommendations have been accepted and announced by the different Government agencies. I expect more recommendations to be accepted. MCYS will provide an annual update during the Committee of Supply each year.

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