MINIMUM HOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURE FOR DESTITUTE FAMILIES

Dr Kanwaljit Soin asked the Acting Minister for Community Development whether he accepts the Minimum Household Expenditure for destitute families established by the Committee on Destitute Families and whether he will be able to give the number of families which are below the Minimum Household Expenditure guidelines.

Mr Abdullah Tarmugi: The Committee on Destitute Families, one of the 3 Committees set up by the Advisory Council on Family and Community Life, adopted the operational definition of destitute families as those families with household income below the MHE.

However, in determining the number of destitute families, the Committee noted that earnings and income statistics in Singapore, as in all countries, were subjected to under-reporting. This was particularly true for those employed in the informal sector where many destitutes were employed. Hence, the MHE (as an income measure) could not be relied upon totally to determine the number of destitute families and had to be qualified by other criteria such as:

• Head of household being a single parent with dependent children and without other means of support.

• Principal wage earner or family member suffering from chronic disease or physical, intellectual or mental disability and facing hardship.

• Elderly person(s) or couple above the age of 60 years without other means of support.

• Death of principal wage earner causing hardship to the family.

The Committee estimated that the number of families likely to face destitution was between 900 and 1,300. They comprised mainly families under public assistance, those receiving assistance from community and other social organisations as well as families in rent arrears of more than 12 months.

Prior to 1991, the MHE had been used to peg the rates of public assistance. In 1990, my Ministry commissioned a consultant firm to conduct a Survey on Lifestyles and Consumption Patterns of Low-income Families in June 1990 to determine the consumption values of low-income families. In March 1991, the rates of public assistance were revised upwards based on the results of the Survey. In the subsequent upward revisions of public assistance rates in January 1993 and April 1994, the Consumer Price Index was used to update the consumption values to peg the public assistance rates. The public assistance rates will be reviewed in January 1995. We are in the process of conducting another survey to find out the changes in consumption values. Annex I(A) & I(B) - INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS/CONVENTIONS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN,INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS/CONVENTIONS ON WORKERS WITH FAMILY RESPONSIBILITIES (Cols. 219 - 222) Table 1 & 2 - BREAKDOWN OF OFFENDERS AGAINST PROPERTY AND PERSONS BY GENDER 1990-1993, BREAKDOWN OF OFFENDERS AGAINST PROPERTY AND PERSONS WHO ARE EX-CONVICTS 1990-1993 (Cols. 223 - 224) Table - RESIDENT SINGLE PARENT POPULATION BY MARITAL STATUS AND MONTHLY HOUSEHOLD INCOME, 1990 (Cols. 225 - 226)