Parliament Questions for 3 October 2023 Sitting
Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) how many Singaporeans and Permanent Residents with disabilities are currently employed; (b) what percentage of Singaporeans and Permanent Residents with disabilities are employed as (i) Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMETs) and (ii) non-PMETs respectively.
Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for Transport whether he can consider providing additional support to existing owners of commercial vehicles who require these vehicles to continue their trade in light of high COE Category C prices.
Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) since 2018, how many companies have been found to have made false salary declarations in respect of work pass applications or renewals; and (b) of these companies, how many are (i) manpower supply companies and (ii) companies with less than 25 employees.
Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for Manpower in respect of scams siphoning out funds from CPF accounts (a) whether the CPF Board has a reimbursement framework or provides any assistance to such scam victims; (b) why has the CPF website not implemented security measures commonly implemented by banks, such as transaction limits and kill switches; and (c) whether the CPF Board will consider implementing security measures such as proactive screening and delays for high-risk transactions and allowing members to freeze online transactions.
Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether all patients in non-air-conditioned Class B2 and C wards in public hospitals can request for spot cooling; (b) whether the Ministry has temperature guidelines for such wards; (c) if not, why; and (d) what is the estimated annual cost of providing air-conditioning for all Class B2 and C wards in public hospitals.
Ms Hazel Poa: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) why did it take eight to 10 months after food poisoning incidents to downgrade the Food Hygiene ratings of food outlets in Nanyang Girls School and the Shangri-La Hotel; and (b) what is the usual range and median for such time intervals.
Ms Hazel Poa: To ask the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry will consider adopting the recent recommendations by the Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics to (i) allow migrant domestic workers (MDWs) who are assisting in investigations or given stern warnings, to work (ii) provide live-out options for MDWs and (iii) allow MDWs to change employers with notice and, if not, why not.
Ms Hazel Poa: To ask the Prime Minister (a) since 2000, how many civil servants have been suspended on (i) full pay (ii) less than full pay but more than half pay (iii) half pay (iv) less than half pay but excluding those on no pay and (v) no pay; and (b) what is the basis of suspending on no pay.
5051. Ms Hazel Poa: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) whether the Government currently conducts a standardised training on procurement procedures for all officers across the Public Service; (b) if not, why not; (c) whether such standardised training will be able to prevent the recurrence of procurement-related lapses across the public sector.
Ms Hazel Poa: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) whether the Government currently conducts a standardised training on procurement procedures for all officers across the Public Service; (b) if not, why not; (c) whether such standardised training will be able to prevent the recurrence of procurement-related lapses across the public sector.
Parliament Questions for 4 October 2023 Sitting
Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) whether there has been a change in the cost of producing NEWater and desalinated water since 2017; (b) what is the difference between the current marginal cost and long run marginal cost of producing water in Singapore; and (c) whether the Government considers that there will be a need to increase water prices within the next five years.
Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment whether the Ministry has any plans to introduce a three-bin system to further separate compostables from recyclables and trash so that incinerated organic food waste will not continue to contribute to Semakau Landfill, which is projected to reach capacity by 2035.
Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for National Development what measures are currently being taken to protect the privacy of direct neighbours of HDB flat owners who install corridor-facing CCTVs within their units.
Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what is the current size, annual income, and annual expenditure of the Rare Disease Fund (RDF); (b) whether the RDF only uses its investment income to support patients who require RDF-listed medications and, if so, why; and (c) why have medications approved by the Health Sciences Authority to treat spinal muscular atrophy, such as Zolgensma and risdiplam, not been listed in the RDF.
Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for Health what steps are currently taken to ensure that proper informed consent is taken from parents of children undergoing medical procedures.
Ms Hazel Poa: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) in the past five years, what is the median wage growth for (i) Professionals, Managers and Executives (ii) non- Professionals, Managers and Executives and (iii) senior management employed by public transport operators; (b) whether the Ministry will consider making this data publicly available in future fare review exercises; and (c) what is the reason for using the national wage index rather than the wage index specifically for the public transport operators.
Ms Hazel Poa: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) whether grassroots leaders are required to declare their political affiliations, if any, prior to their appointments; and (b) whether the People’s Association considers the political affiliations of individuals when appointing grassroots leaders.
Ms Hazel Poa: To ask the Prime Minister (a) whether the Elections Department (ELD) notified overseas voters in the 2023 Presidential Election that their votes were received by the Returning Officer and accepted for counting; (b) if not, why not; (c) whether those whose votes were not accepted for counting will be considered as non-voters and struck off the electoral roll; and (d) whether ELD will consider alternative methods of returning postal ballots in future, given that only 60% of ballots received in this election were accepted for counting.
Ms Hazel Poa: To ask the Prime Minister (a) what are the lessons learned in the implementation of overseas voting and nursing home voting procedures in the 2023 Presidential Election; and (b) whether any changes will be made.
Parliament Questions for 5 October 2023 Sitting
Mr Leong Mun Wai: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) how many Workfare Transport Concession Scheme cardholders currently spend more than (i) $96 per month and (ii) $3.15 per day respectively on train and non-express bus fares; and (b) whether the Public Transport Council has considered implementing daily fare capping for public transport fares to remove the upfront cost barriers associated with monthly concession passes for this group of commuters and, if not, why.
