Volume 94 Thursday No 10 24 March 2016 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES SINGAPORE OFFICIAL REPORT CONTENTS Written Answers to Questions for Oral Answer Not Answered by 3.00pm Page 17 Lift Upgrading Programme for Previously Ineligible Flats (Mr Zainal Sapari) 1 18 CPF Special or Retirement Account Funds for Mortgage Arrears (Mr Zainal Sapari) 1 19 Labour Crunch in Maritime Industry (Er Dr Lee Bee Wah) 2 21 Separating Clients' Deposits and Payments to Prevent Unlawful Withdrawal of Funds (Mr Gan Thiam Poh) 3 22 Upgrading of Private Estates above 30 Years Old (Mr Chong Kee Hiong) 4 23 Repairs and Maintenance Schedule for Nature Parks (Ms Rahayu Mahzam) 5 24 Difference between Parking Fees for Surface and Multi-storey Car Parks (Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef) 5 26 Feedback from Public Consultation on Fresh Start Housing Scheme (Er Dr Lee Bee Wah) 6 28 Ensuring Quality of Works Done for Home Improvement Programme (Dr Tan Wu Meng) 7 LIFT UPGRADING PROGRAMME FOR PREVIOUSLY INELIGIBLE FLATS 17 Mr Zainal Sapari asked the Minister for National Development (a) whether HDB can reconsider to (i) offer the Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) to ineligible flats due to cost considerations (ii) offer LUP again to those blocks of flats that have not been successful if there are changes to the owners of the benefiting units; and (b) whether HDB will withdraw the right of the owners of the benefiting units to ballot if their units have been rented out or they could not be contacted for whatever reasons. Mr Lawrence Wong: When the Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) was introduced in 2001, there were more than 5,300 blocks that did not have direct lift access. Almost 1,000 blocks exceeded the LUP cost cap then. However, over time, HDB developed various cost-effective technical solutions so that more blocks could benefit from LUP. These efforts have reduced the number of ineligible blocks to around 150. Despite HDB’s best efforts, there will still be some blocks where the LUP cannot be offered due to excessively high costs or technical constraints. By necessity, we have to set a financial cap on how much we can build and spend on each benefiting unit. This is so that we spend prudently. For blocks that have failed the LUP polling previously, HDB will evaluate appeals on a case-by-case basis. Key considerations are whether the circumstances have changed since the last polling, and if there is at least 75% support from residents before appealing for LUP to be re- offered. This is regardless of whether there has been any change in owners of the benefiting units. Singaporean flat owners are the eligible voters for LUP. Even if they have rented out their flats, they remain eligible to vote for the LUP. As such, the rights of the owners of the benefiting units to ballot will not be withdrawn. If the eligible voter is unable to cast the vote for the LUP, he can appoint a proxy to vote on his behalf during the polling period. Back to Contents CPF SPECIAL OR RETIREMENT ACCOUNT FUNDS FOR MORTGAGE ARREARS 18 Mr Zainal Sapari asked the Minister for Manpower whether HDB can reconsider 2 allowing HDB home owners who do not have sufficient savings in their CPF ordinary account to utilise their CPF special or retirement accounts to manage their home mortgage arrears. Mr Lim Swee Say: CPF members can use their Ordinary Account (OA) savings for the downpayment, monthly instalments and mortgage arrears for their housing purchase. The Special Account (SA) savings are generally preserved for members’ retirement needs, and cannot be used for housing purposes. When members turn 55, a Retirement Account, or RA, is created. Monies from the OA and the SA are transferred to the RA up to the Full Retirement Sum. The OA continues to exist even after the RA is created. Any remaining OA balance, as well as new contributions to the OA after the age of 55, can be used to meet housing needs. In addition, any RA savings in excess of the Basic Retirement Sum can also be used for housing purposes. HDB proactively helps flat owners manage their arrears early. If their financial difficulty is temporary, HDB will consider reducing or deferring their instalments to help them resolve their arrears. For flat owners who can no longer afford to keep their flats, HDB will help them explore more options, including right-sizing to a more affordable flat. For CPF members who do not have sufficient OA savings to meet their housing needs, we have exercised flexibility where cases merit it. For example, we have, upon appeal, allowed CPF members to use their RA savings that originated from their OA to pay for their housing, even if their RA savings are below their Basic Retirement Sum. Overall, we need to strike a balance between allowing CPF members to use their SA and RA savings for housing needs and safeguarding such savings for their retirement needs, so as not to compromise their retirement adequacy. Back to Contents LABOUR CRUNCH IN MARITIME INDUSTRY 19 Er Dr Lee Bee Wah asked the Minister for Manpower (a) what is the status of the labour shortage in the maritime industry; (b) how has the labour crunch affected the industry; and (c) whether the Ministry will adjust the current foreign worker quota to help ease the situation. Mr Lim Swee Say: The port is an important pillar of Singapore’s economy providing 3 critical connectivity to global markets. To strengthen Singapore’s status as a leading transhipment hub, an adequate pool of skilled manpower is essential to support port operations round the clock. Overall, while manpower is tight, for certain jobs that are physically taxing or require sea- going expertise, such as stevedores or harbourcraft crew, foreign workers complement the local workforce due to a shortage of Singaporeans willing to do the work. Nonetheless, most companies are well within their Dependency Ratio Ceiling (DRC) for the employment of foreign workers. As part of developing the Sectorial Manpower Plan (SMP), the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) is also working with industry partners and the unions to help more Singaporeans take up sea-faring as well as shore-based careers in the maritime sector. These efforts include putting in place programmes to train more Singaporean seafarers and developing career ladders for various professions in the sector. MPA is also promoting the use of technologies and automation at our port to reduce reliance on manual labour. For instance, MPA is working with PSA to pilot the use of Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs). As port operations expand, the use of AGVs will reduce the need for more foreign port workers. With the implementation of productive technologies and efforts to address the manpower shortage for specific jobs at the port, we do not see a need to adjust the foreign worker quota for this industry at this point of time. We should instead press on with our efforts to drive productivity improvement and accelerate the shift towards a more manpower-lean mode of port operations. Back to Contents SEPARATING CLIENTS' DEPOSITS AND PAYMENTS TO PREVENT UNLAWFUL WITHDRAWAL OF FUNDS 21 Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) whether the Ministry will consider enhancing the protection of consumer interests by requiring merchants and sellers to set up and maintain client accounts to keep the deposits/payments separate from their daily operating accounts and making unlawful withdrawals from these accounts a criminal offence. 4 Mr S Iswaran: The Government’s approach to consumer protection is based on promoting fair trading among retailers, and helping consumers make informed purchasing decisions. This approach has benefited consumers and businesses, as the vast majority of our retailers are legitimate businesses who want to serve their customers well. As the nature of consumer transactions can vary widely in practice, broad-based requirements such as mandating that deposits be put into escrow accounts would be onerous, and raise the cost of doing business which will ultimately be passed on to consumers. In sectors where deposits are the norm, the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) has worked with sector associations to develop the CaseTrust accreditation scheme. Most businesses accredited under the CaseTrust scheme provide protection for consumers’ deposits. This usually takes the form of business insurance which will compensate consumers if the business becomes insolvent. Currently more than 700 businesses from various sectors offering motoring, renovation and spa and wellness services are CaseTrust accredited. CASE recently announced that it has partnered the Hair and Cosmetology Association (Singapore) to work on CaseTrust accreditation to promote fair trading, improve the sector’s image and raise consumer confidence. CASE is in similar discussions with the Association of Catering Professionals. We encourage more businesses to become accredited as this helps to provide consumers with greater confidence that their interests are safeguarded. Back to Contents UPGRADING OF PRIVATE ESTATES ABOVE 30 YEARS OLD 22 Mr Chong Kee Hiong asked the Minister for National Development how many private estates there are that are currently above 30 years old and whether there is a plan to upgrade these estates through the Estate Upgrading Programme by a certain due date. Mr Lawrence Wong: Since the Estate Upgrading Programme (EUP) was launched in 2000, MND has selected 63 private estates through nine batches of EUP, benefitting more than 46,000 households. There are about five to nine estates selected in each batch. In selecting estates for EUP, we consider the age of the estate as well as the physical conditions. We prioritise the older estates, which have greater need and more opportunities for significant improvement through the upgrading works.