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Parliamentary Debates Singapore Official Report Volume 94 Monday No 81 6 August 2018 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES SINGAPORE OFFICIAL REPORT CONTENTS Written Answers to Questions for Oral Answer Not Answered by End of Question Time Page 40. Update on Local Enterprise and Association Development-Plus (LEAD+) 3 Programme (Mr Thomas Chua Kee Seng) 41. Differentiate between Taxi Drivers and Part-time Hire Drivers (Er Dr Lee Bee 5 Wah) 42. Barring Companies with Safety Lapses from Public Project Tenders for Longer 6 Duration (Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong) 44. Reviewing Quality of Roads (Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap) 6 46. Impact of Digitalisation on Bank Tellers and Their Jobs (Mr Desmond Choo) 7 48. Projected Number of Data Protection Officers Needed (Mr Melvin Yong Yik 9 Chye) 52. Singapore’s Role Post Trump-Kim Summit (Dr Lim Wee Kiak) 10 54. Locations of SingHealth Dental Clinics (Mr Zainal Sapari) 13 55. Drug Rehabilitation Centre’s Assistance for Inmates to Stop Addiction and 14 Cultivate Healthy Pursuits (Mr Christopher de Souza) 56. Singapore's Contribution to Upcoming Singapore Convention on Mediation (Mr 15 Christopher de Souza) 1 58. Trend of Graduate Under-employment in Singapore (Ms Foo Mee Har) 19 59. Design of Lift Lobbies at BTO Blocks Traps Rain (Ms Foo Mee Har) 20 60. Update on Trap-Neuter-Release-Manage Scheme for Stray Dogs (Mr Zainal 21 Sapari) 61. Subsidies for Early Intervention Programmes at Pre-school Level (Mr Leon 22 Perera) 62,63. NEA’s Standard Protocol for Handling Feedback about Smoking in Prohibited 23 Areas (Er Dr Lee Bee Wah, Mr Liang Eng Hwa) 64. Government's Plans to Further Liberalise Energy Market (Mr Desmond Choo) 25 65. Update on Construction of Pedestrian Overhead Bridge Lifts in Toa Payoh East- 26 Novena (Mr Saktiandi Supaat) 66. Proposal for Free Public Transport on Buses and MRT for Senior Citizens during 27 Off-peak Hours (Mr Gan Thiam Poh) 67. Top-performing Students Opting for Further Studies in Information Technology 28 and Engineering (Dr Chia Shi-Lu) 68. Foreign Domestic Worker Grant Eligibility for Those with Mentally Disabled 29 Parents Living in Separate Households (Mr Murali Pillai) 69. Smartphone Addiction among Young Children and Teenagers (Mr Murali Pillai) 30 70,71. Jobs Made Obsolete due to Artificial Intelligence and Global Downsizing 31 Trends (Mr Saktiandi Supaat) 73. Penalties for Companies that Do Not Implement Wildlife and Environmental 33 Mitigation Measures for Projects near National Parks and Nature Reserves (Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang) 74,75. Creating Awareness on Zero-wastage and Recycling (Ms Rahayu Mahzam) 35 76. Bicycles with Long Handlebars Not Allowed on Footpaths (Mr Dennis Tan Lip 37 Fong) 77. Advance Medical Directive as Opt-out Scheme for Older and Terminally Ill 38 Persons (Dr Chia Shi-Lu) 78. Treatments that Blend Western and Traditional Chinese Medicine (Ms Joan 39 Pereira) 2 79. Retrenchment Benefits Paid Out by Companies that Retrench Workers for 40 Reasons not Related to Financial Distress (Mr Pritam Singh) 80. Special Employment Credit for Freelancers and Seniors Working in Shared 41 Economy Sector (Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry) 81. Preserving Farrer Park Field and Adjoining Facilities for Sports Heritage (Mr 42 Melvin Yong Yik Chye) 82. Plans for NEA's Daily-rated Staff to be Skilled for Future Jobs (Mr Zainal Sapari) 43 83. Progress On Raising Awareness for Climate Change (Miss Cheng Li Hui) 44 84. Elderly Patients Readmitted within 30 Days after Discharge From Hospital 46 (Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong) 85. Companies’ Ability to Meet Water Efficiency Benchmarks (Er Dr Lee Bee Wah) 47 86. Singapore's Efforts at Managing Climate Change (Mr Seah Kian Peng) 49 87. Impact of Hyflux’s Debt and Business Reorganisation on Singapore's Water 51 System and Water Security (Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong) 88. Alternative Sites for Sea Burials (Mr Leon Perera) 52 89. People's Association’s Malay Activity Executive Committees Council (Mr 53 Azmoon Ahmad) 3 UPDATE ON LOCAL ENTERPRISE AND ASSOCIATION DEVELOPMENT- PLUS (LEAD+) PROGRAMME 40 Mr Thomas Chua Kee Seng asked the Minister for Trade and Industry whether he will provide an update on (i) the $30 million that was set aside for the Local Enterprise and Association Development-Plus (LEAD+) programme introduced in 2016 to improve the capabilities of Trade Associations and Chambers (TACS) and (ii) the LEAD+ feature to second up to 20 public officers to TACs to forge closer partnerships between the Government and industry and to better the public officers' understanding of the needs of enterprises. Mr Chan Chun Sing: Trade Associations and Chambers (TACs) have an in-depth understanding of industry needs and growth opportunities, and are connected to extensive business networks. They are able to complement efforts by government agencies to support and reach out to a wide pool of enterprises. Our TACs play important roles to help companies transform their operations, enhance their competitiveness and capture new growth opportunities in domestic and overseas markets. As we move into a new phase of economic development, we must continue to evolve and strengthen the partnership between the Government and TACs. Many TACs have stepped up to work closely with government agencies to catalyse enterprise and industry transformation. For instance, the Singapore Food Manufacturers’ Association and the Singapore Manufacturing Federation worked with JTC to jointly conceptualise the development of JTC Food Hub @ Senoko, which lowers business costs for food companies through features such as a shared cold room and warehouse facility. The Singapore Business Federation has also been working with MTI and Enterprise Singapore to organise training workshops for our companies, so that they know what the benefits are under the Free Trade Agreements which we have signed with other economies. In the area of sector-specific training, the Singapore Precision Engineering 4 and Technology Association and the Logistics Alliance have also worked with SSG to curate a list of SkillsFuture Series courses for their respective industries. These are some of the important roles which we want our TACs to focus on. The Local Enterprise and Association Development-Plus (LEAD+) programme was introduced at Budget 2016 to encourage TACs to raise their internal competencies to be more effective champions of industry transformation. At COS 2018 this year, MTI announced the consolidation of several grant programmes for TAC initiatives, including LEAD+, into a single enhanced LEAD programme to drive comprehensive industry upgrading and internationalisation efforts. The combined LEAD programme budget for 2016-2020 is about $115 million. TACs can now tap on the enhanced LEAD scheme to strengthen their leadership and secretariat teams, improve organisational processes, and deliver new and value-added services to their members. As of June 2018, Enterprise Singapore has provided almost $10 million to 9 TACs to upgrade their internal capabilities. We expect more TACs to come on board over the next few years. The enhanced LEAD programme covers all areas that were previously supported under LEAD+, including the secondment of public officers. Efforts to second public officers to TACs are not new. Prior to Budget 2016, then-SPRING had seconded over 10 public officers to TACs to drive the implementation of key programmes such as the SME Talent Programme and SME Centres. Since Budget 2016, three more officers have been seconded to the TACs. We will facilitate more secondment arrangements for TACs which are keen to play a constructive role, and can organise themselves to work with the Government to transform their sectors and upgrade the capabilities of their members. Back to Contents 5 DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN TAXI DRIVERS AND PART-TIME HIRE DRIVERS 41 Er Dr Lee Bee Wah asked the Minister for Transport (a) whether he can update the House on the Ministry's review on the regulations of private-hire car services with a view to differentiate the tax regime between taxi drivers and part-time hire drivers; (b) whether the minimum mileage clocking is one of the areas under review to differentiate the two categories of drivers; and (c) when is the review expected to be completed. Mr Khaw Boon Wan: The Ministry of Finance (MOF) has reviewed the tax treatment for taxi and private hire car (PHC) drivers and held a public consultation on the draft Income Tax Amendment Bill 2018. The draft Bill proposes allowing PHC drivers, regardless of whether they drive part-time or full-time, to claim tax deductions on car- related expenses against their driving income, under the revised tax treatment. This is because like taxi drivers, PHC drivers also provide similar point-to-point transport services. With this proposed change, all PHC drivers can enjoy the same tax treatment as taxi drivers. The proposed change will take effect from Year of Assessment 2019, that is, on income earned in 2018. To improve taxi availability, LTA had previously required taxi companies to maintain a certain percentage of their taxi fleets with minimum daily mileage of 250 kilometres. This was removed in 2017 as the introduction of private hire car services had boosted the availability and range of point-to-point options for commuters. MOT is currently undertaking a review of the regulatory framework for the point-to- point service sector. More details will be released when ready. Back to Contents 6 BARRING COMPANIES WITH SAFETY LAPSES FROM PUBLIC PROJECT TENDERS FOR LONGER DURATION 42 Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong asked the Minister for Transport whether contractors who have a record of safety lapses or who have been blacklisted by the Ministry of Manpower for safety lapses can be made ineligible to tender for public infrastructure projects for a longer period of time to ensure that all contractors take building quality and safety seriously. Mr Khaw Boon Wan: The Standing Committee on Debarment, which consists of representatives from various agencies, decides on all cases of debarment of contractors from participating in tenders by government agencies.
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