PLANNING (AMENDMENT) BILL

3.33 p.m.

Order for Second Reading read.

The Minister for Finance (Dr Goh Keng Swee): Mr Speaker, Sir, I have His Excellency the Yang di-Pertuan Negara's recommendation that the Bill be proceeded with. I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

The Bill seeks to amend the Planning Ordinance, 1959, on account of the integration of the City Council with the Government and is solely concerned with staffing.

Members will recall that on the abolition of the Singapore Improvement Trust in February 1960, about 89 employees of the Trust were transferred to the Planning Department in Government and the remainder to the Housing and Development Board. The employees of the Trust who were transferred to the Planning Department were members of the staff engaged in the planning functions of the Trust. Their terms and conditions of service, including their superannuation, were governed by the same rules as applied to the employees of the City Council. It has been the intention that the staff of the Trust transferred to the Planning Department and the employees of the City Council who will be transferred to the Government as a consequence of the integration should enjoy the same terms and conditions of transfer and superannuation. In order to ensure that these former employees of the Trust would enjoy similar superannuation benefits as those applicable to employees of the City Council who are to be transferred to the Government as a result of the integration, it is necessary to commence the Planning Ordinance to provide for identical provisions as those contained in the Local Government Integration Bill.

The extension of the benefits of the Government's pension scheme to former Trust employees in the Planning Department will involve the Government in some small expenditure. In a few cases, these persons will find the benefits of the Government's pension scheme greater than those to which they were entitled in their previous employment with the Trust. It is most probable that in these few cases they would choose the benefits of the Government's pension scheme. The exact costs cannot be ascertained until their final retirement. But in all probability there will only be a few cases and it is unlikely that the additional cost would be very large.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time.

Committed to the Select Committee to which the Public Utilities Bill has been committed by the Assembly. -[Dr Goh Keng Swee].