Volume 94 Monday No 26 7 November 2016 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES SINGAPORE OFFICIAL REPORT CONTENTS Written Answers to Questions for Oral Answer Not Answered by End of Question Time Page 24. Trends and Penalties for Jaywalking (Ms Chia Yong Yong) 1 30. Fund Allocation to Agencies Based on Qualitative Indicators (Ms Kuik Shiao-Yin) 2 33. Adoption of WHO Suicide Prevention Strategy (Ms Kuik Shiao-Yin) 3 34. Wage Differential of Ex-offender Placed in a Job through SCORE (Mr Leon Perera) 5 35. Unsolved Hit-and-Run Traffic Accidents (Ms Joan Pereira) 5 38. Mandatory Insurance Coverage for Contract Workers (Ms Chia Yong Yong) 6 40. Tighter Regulation of Home Renovation Contractors (Er Dr Lee Bee Wah) 7 44. Encouraging Residents and Volunteers to Help Curb High-rise Littering (Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling) 8 45. Action against Errant Renovation Contractors (Er Dr Lee Bee Wah) 9 48. Parallel Road to KPE as Additional Route for Motorists Travelling between Hougang and Ubi (Mr Gan Thiam Poh) 10 50. Conditions for Granting Exemptions for Mother Tongue (Mr Murali Pillai) 11 53. Police Action in Hostage Case Involving Two-year-old Child in Sembawang (Dr Lim Wee Kiak) 12 54. Possibility of Dual Citizenship for Singaporeans (Mr Edwin Tong Chun Fai) 12 55. Publicity of Workplace Safety Practices by Premises Owners (Mr Ang Hin Kee) 13 58. Affordability of Childcare Services since 2008 Review (Mr Desmond Choo) 14 61. Freezing or Reducing Land Rent for JTC Land as Measure to Help SMEs (Miss Cheng Li Hui) 15 62. Competition between Local Retailer and Offshore Online Retail Shops (Mr Gan Thiam Poh) 16 63. Update on Completion of Terminal 4 at Changi Airport (Mr Gan Thiam Poh) 17 65. Reasons for Higher Bills for Patients with Integrated Shield Plan Riders (Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong) 17 66. Singaporean Co-workers Guarantors for Foreign Nurses (Ms K Thanaletchimi) 18 67. Verification of Foreign Nurses' Qualifications (Ms K Thanaletchimi) 19 68. Measures to Deter Social Media from Sowing Discord among Racial and Religious Groups (Ms Joan Pereira) 20 69. Ensuring Quality of Elder-friendly Features in Studio Apartments (Mr Png Eng Huat) 21 70. Regulations for Motorcyclists Riding in HDB Void Decks and other Public Spaces (Mr Darryl David) 22 71. Motor Vehicle Accidents Involving Injury or Death of Elderly (Dr Tan Wu Meng) 22 72. Operating Cost Considerations in Transport Fare Reviews (Assoc Prof Randolph Tan) 23 73. Actions against Foreign Entities that Undermine Singapore's Racial or Religious Harmony (Mr Lim Biow Chuan) 24 74. Evidence that Legal Online Gambling Reduces Illegal Online Gambling and Would Not Result in Overall Increase in Gambler Numbers (Mr Leon Perera) 25 75. Inclusion of Slightly Older Lifts in Lift Enhancement Programme (Mr Pritam Singh) 26 78,79,80,81. Quality Control for Lift Installation and Maintenance (Ms Tin Pei Ling, Ms Sun Xueling) 27 82. Contingency when Lift Companies Exit Singapore's Market (Ms Tin Pei Ling) 30 84. Service Standards for HDB's Replies to Residents (Ms Foo Mee Har) 30 85. Extent of HDB's Authority in Water Leakage Repair Incidents where Homeowners are Uncooperative (Ms Foo Mee Har) 31 86. Safety Measures for Rides at Fun Fairs, Carnivals and Theme Parks (Ms Joan Pereira) 32 87. Temporary Centre for Hawkers Affected by Fire at Jurong West Market and Coffeeshop (Mr Ang Wei Neng) 33 88. Ramps for HDB Flats with Steps at Entrances (Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye) 34 89. Lifts for Private Buildings More than Three Storeys in Height (Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye) 35 TRENDS AND PENALTIES FOR JAYWALKING 24 Ms Chia Yong Yong asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether the Government has studied the trends in increased jaywalking; (b) what are the numbers of jaywalkers over the last five years; (c) how many of them have been warned or penalised for jaywalking; and (d) what are the Government's plans to penalise jaywalking and ensure that jaywalking will be brought under control. Mr K Shanmugam: To get a sense of the jaywalking situation, the Police monitor two indicators: the numbers of fatal and injury accidents involving pedestrians who jaywalked. In 2011, there were 25 fatal accidents and 292 injury accidents involving jaywalkers. In comparison, in 2015, there were 22 fatal accidents and 208 injury accidents involving jaywalkers. While the numbers of fatal and injury accidents involving jaywalkers have fallen, nevertheless, jaywalking remains an issue we are concerned about. We need both enforcement and education to tackle this issue. The Traffic Police (TP) deploys officers at jaywalking hotspots to enforce against jaywalking and educate pedestrians on safe road use. On average, in the last five years, TP issued about 7,400 warnings or summonses for jaywalking each year. TP regularly engages pedestrians on road safety and good road-use practices, especially the young and elderly, who are more vulnerable. Last year, TP partnered Shell to organise the 35th Shell Traffic Games to educate primary school students on road safety. TP also partnered the Singapore Road Safety Council, Tote Board and Singapore Pools to organise the Road Safety Concert for the Golden Age to educate elderly pedestrians about safe road-use. TP will also be launching another road safety campaign targeting the elderly later this year. The campaign will provide an easy self-test kit for elderly pedestrians to learn more about their visual, hearing and reflex capabilities, and help them better understand themselves and the risks of jaywalking. The Government will continue to implement road safety features for pedestrians. For example, LTA has installed metal barriers along the road or centre divider to discourage jaywalking. LTA will also build more pedestrian crossings to facilitate safe crossing. TP works closely with LTA on the “Silver Zone” initiative, which brings senior-friendly road safety 2 features to matured estates with high concentrations of elderly folks. LTA will expand the Green Man Plus Scheme, which allows seniors extra time to cross the road by tapping their senior citizen EZ-Link cards. It is also the pedestrians’ individual responsibility to ensure that they practise good road safety habits, including not jaywalking. We would like to remind pedestrians to always use proper pedestrian crossings, for example, traffic light junctions, zebra crossings, overhead bridges and underpasses. All road users have a part to play in keeping our roads safe. Other road users, including motorists and cyclists, also need to look out for pedestrians. Back to Contents FUND ALLOCATION TO AGENCIES BASED ON QUALITATIVE INDICATORS 30 Ms Kuik Shiao-Yin asked the Minister for Finance (a) whether the Ministry has explored using qualitative indicators versus quantitative performance indicators to determine how funding is allocated for different agencies; and (b) how has the Ministry worked with the Ministry of Social and Family Development, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, and Ministry of Education to measure social and cultural impact. Mr Heng Swee Keat: The Government strives to ensure that public monies are well spent to achieve their intended outcomes. In our evaluation of programmes for funding, we are open to considering all forms of performance indicators that help provide a more holistic assessment of their impact. This includes both qualitative as well as quantitative indicators. While current performance indicators tend to be quantitative in nature, we complement these with qualitative indicators. For example, when looking at public housing, we use both quantitative data, which include home ownership rates and debt servicing ratio for applicants for new flats, and qualitative indicators which include regular surveys of residents on factors such as satisfaction with the living environment. Both quantitative and qualitative indicators are considered to refine our housing policies and programmes, improve town designs and guide how we allocate resources for public housing. Each Ministry is accountable for its respective outcomes. MOF supports each Ministry’s work in their development of performance indicators that balance between helping to capture their impact, while not being too onerous to track. These are regularly reported for each Ministry 3 as part of the annual Revenue and Expenditure Estimates released during Budget. In addition, every two years, the Ministry of Finance works with agencies to publish the Singapore Public Sector Outcomes Review (SPOR), which takes stock of Government programmes. This includes social and cultural impact, which is measured through a wide range of indicators such as healthcare affordability, the resilience of families, and the incidence of volunteerism. For instance, to track efforts in strengthening families, the Ministry of Social and Family Development monitors indicators such as social attitudes towards family life from periodic surveys. The Ministry of Education tracks indicators such as the number of students who progress to Secondary and post-Secondary education, and the international ranking of our education system. The Ministry of Health tracks indicators on waiting times, bed occupancy rates and public satisfaction with public hospitals and polyclinics. The Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth monitors volunteerism rates but also qualitative indicators such as the attitudes of youth to helping the less fortunate and contributing to society. We are mindful that not every policy outcome can be tracked by a single set of numbers. While quantitative indicators provide a