I) BUILDING AN INCLUSIVE SOCIETY
Mr Chairman, let me first thank all honourable Members who have spoken passionately about building a more “inclusive society” over the last two weeks. Beyond making speeches in this chamber, many Members have in our own small ways contributed towards this cause, to help those in need - regardless of race, language, or religion; regardless of political affiliation; regardless whether it is a public, private or people sector effort. I admire those who see someone in need and extend a helping hand, never quibbling if it is your job or my task. Putting it simply, it is our job. Thank you all for walking this journey with us.
What is an Inclusive Society? I think we need three elements – Hope, Heart and Home.
I grew up in a 3-room HDB flat in Circuit Road, with two grandparents, an aunt, my mother and my sister – six of us. My late grandmother had a thyroid disorder and couldn’t walk well. My mother held two jobs to support our family – a machine operator stamping aluminium plates by day and an office cleaner by night.
We were taught since young that while we may not be rich, we should cherish what we had, work hard to be useful to society, and where possible, help others who were less fortunate than us.
We also learnt that if we work hard, there is “hope” for a better life – not just for ourselves, but for our families. And whether in success or failure, whether in wealth or in poverty, we should also have a “heart” to help others, just as some have helped us. We owe our success to society - kind neighbours who watched over us, unknown donors who contributed to our education, and government assistance in various ways. With this support, we build a “home”: not just a HDB flat, but a sense of being part of this community and a responsibility towards our fellow citizens.
Sir, our task is to build a “home” truly for Singaporeans. A home where everyone feels that he or she belongs, not just because of what the system offers him, what the government gives him, but more so because of what he wants to offer in return.
A home where everyone, especially the weak, the less fortunate, and the less endowed, can have a sense of “hope”. A home where everyone, regardless of circumstances, has a “heart” to care for our fellow citizens. It is not just about (IMM) I, Me, and Myself – but We, Us, and Ours.
In this Budget, MCYS will be guided by these same three words – Hope, Heart and Home. To provide “hope”, to those who may have fallen on hard times; to those who are determined to overcome their circumstances, especially for their next generation, and to those who can no longer help themselves despite their best efforts. To mobilise the “heart” of every individual, every corporate, every community and every public sector agency – a whole of society approach - to come forth to act positively. So that we can engender a deep sense of “home” amongst our people.
Responses
Mr Seah Kian Peng, GPC Chair for MCYS, opened our debate by asking about our plans to address the challenges of economic volatility, especially unemployment challenges for many lower skilled workers and PMETs, which may ultimately affect family stability and development opportunities for our next generation.
DPM Tharman has outlined this Government’s commitment to strengthen our social safety net to ensure that everyone has the best chance to do better for ourselves and our children. If we are a football team, sustainable economic growth and quality jobs are the forwards who will buy us space to manoeuvre. Affordable Housing, Medical and Transport, Quality Education and Training form the midfield – who enable our forwards, and keep our society harmonious by sharing the fruits of our labour. MCYS is the goalkeeper – our last line of defence – to make sure that the least number of people fall through the net.
To win as a team, we must both do well forward and in defence. As such, MCYS’s work to help the needy and the weak cannot be seen in isolation within the Government. And beyond the Government, the private and people sectors play critical roles in this team to minimise people falling through the cracks.
On MCYS’ part, there are two prongs to achieve our mission:
First, Strengthening our Social Safety Net to provide hope;
Second, Developing our Social Service Sector by mobilising hearts, minds and hands.
II) STRENGTHENING OUR SOCIAL SAFETY NET
Society’s needs have become more complex since my childhood days in Circuit Road. We will have to stay ahead to help more Singaporeans in the new social-economic landscape. To ensure that they continue to have a “hope” for themselves, and their families.
Some can benefit from a temporary lift at certain stages of life or during unforeseen episodes. Others need greater help or support for a longer period of time. There are also families with more complex needs beyond financial assistance. They may need a hand in areas such as education and employment, counselling, caring for an elderly or family member with disability, or even protection and rehabilitation.
On our part, MCYS will continue to provide the greatest help to the bottom income groups and the most vulnerable, who have the least resources. These are the in-risk groups.
But we are also prepared to go beyond the 20th percentile where preventive support can go a long way. This is especially where the development of children is concerned. Or where some timely help can prevent an at-risk family from falling into the in-risk category.
My ministry will enhance ComCare, which Mr Seah Kian Peng has asked about. This also addresses Dr Lily Neo’s and Mr Patrick Tay’s questions on assistance to vulnerable segments.
ComCare is a key component of our social safety net. It provides support for Singaporeans who find it hard to cope, despite the support which they have received in education, healthcare, housing, workfare and other social transfers.
Singaporeans who need Short to Medium Term Help
First, we will extend ComCare’s coverage to more Singaporeans who need short to medium term help. Some may have lost their jobs or suffered a temporary reduction in income. Others are unable to work temporarily because of health or family circumstances.
New Income Criteria
We will raise the monthly household income criterion for ComCare assistance for these groups from $1,500 to $1,700. This will enable more to receive short-term assistance to tide over difficult times, and have the hope to get back onto their feet again.
Some of these families may have reasonable household incomes, but in reality struggle to make ends meet because they have many dependants to look after. We will raise the Per Capita Income criterion to $550, so that more of such families can be assisted as we take their circumstances and burden into account.
We will make similar adjustments to the Citizen’s Consultative Committee (CCC) ComCare fund, which provides temporary help at the constituency level.
The second group to whom we will extend more help are families with young children. Dr Lily Neo spoke about them, and we agree we can do more.
Children are our hopes and it is vital that we provide them with opportunities to succeed for the future. For this reason, we invest in providing for children from lower income families who cannot afford pre-school care and education, as well as student care.
Last year, we raised the income cap for pre-school financial assistance to $3,500. This year, as DPM has announced in the Budget, we will raise the income cap for student care to the same level, starting from July.
We will also introduce a start-up grant of $400 to defray families’ one-time cost of enrolling their children in student care. This will come in useful for expenses such as books, insurance and registration fees.
We will be working closely with MOE to expand student care options in schools as well. Mr Gan Thiam Poh will be glad to know that MOE is increasing the number of school-based Student Care Centres to improve accessibility, as announced yesterday.
Parallel PCI Assessment Framework for Child Care, Kindergarten and Student Care
Mr Gan also suggested standardising child care fees to make child care more affordable. Sir, different operators or centres offer different child care programmes to meet the unique needs and demands of the families they serve. For this reason, they also have different cost structures. It would not be practical for MCYS to impose a standardised fee structure.
Instead, we support parents through various subsidies to defray the cost of child care and kindergarten. We provide a full day universal child care subsidy for working mothers, up to $300 per month. Parents can also utilise funds from the Child Development Account under the Baby Bonus scheme to offset the cost of child care fees. Lower income families are also eligible for further financial assistance through ComCare.
Mr Yee Jenn Jong asked for a review of kindergarten assistance criteria so that more operators can become eligible centres. Today, eligible children can receive such subsidies at 240 MOE-registered kindergartens that meet criteria such as being non-profit and secular, and are in a good financial position to provide quality pre-school education.
I understand and I share Mr Yee Jenn Jong’s concern to better help our people access more affordable child care and kindergarten. But let me explain how we try to do this on two levels. On one level, we try to lower the fees that are charged across the board by helping kindergartens and child care centres to make sure that their costs are contained. On the other hand, KiFAS is really a scheme targeted at the lower end of the financial spectrum. It is centred on the family’s circumstances, rather than on the operators themselves. So it is a family- and child-specific scheme, and not so much to help bring down the cost for the high-end operators.
MCYS will continue to conduct regular reviews of our pre-school schemes to improve accessibility and affordability. To ensure that lower income households with more dependants receive adequate assistance for their children, we will introduce a parallel Per Capita Income criterion for our assistance schemes in child care, kindergarten and student care. From April, children from large families will qualify for child care and kindergarten assistance if their per capita income is less than $875. The same will apply for student care assistance from July.
About 5,000 children will benefit from these enhancements.
Mr Zainudin Nordin pointed out the need for more professionals in the pre-school sector, and we agree. We are and will continue to work on this. We have been steadily introducing more entry routes and widening these pipelines through scholarships and teaching awards. We have also been helping operators enhance their HR practices, as Mr Zainudin has pointed out is so essential to develop this sector.
I am pleased to report that the child care manpower pool has grown by almost 25% last year. Teacher quality has also improved. Today, three in four child care teachers have or are pursuing a diploma in early childhood education.
Mr Faisal Manap asked about the School Pocket Money Fund. This is not a government scheme, but a community project started by the Singapore Press Holdings and administered by the National Council of Social Service. We will convey the points of feedback that you have raised to them.
Sir, some families with children need hand holding and social support beyond financial assistance. We have put in place other support programmes for them, such as preventive case management, Intensive Case Management and the Home Ownership Plus Education (or HOPE) scheme. Many of these are delivered through the Family Service Centres and fully resourced by MCYS.
Dr Lily Neo has asked about families on the HOPE scheme. This is an incentive for young, low-income parents to invest their limited resources in upgrading themselves and their children, while keeping their families small. As at December last year, there are about 2,400 families on HOPE. We expect 200 new families to join the scheme this year. We will continue to review its eligibility criteria to ensure we reach out to our target group – those most in need of assistance and family planning.
Third, we recognise that some Singaporeans need long-term support. We provide this through the Public Assistance (PA) scheme. PA serves about 3,000 beneficiaries - mostly elderly or disabled persons with little income and family support, whom Dr Lily Neo and Mr Vikram Nair have also asked about.
Extend PA Scheme to More Elderly
Over the years, we have extended the PA scheme to help this group. For example, we raised the quantum of cash assistance for PA recipients last year.
This year, we will extend the PA scheme to more needy senior citizens. Some have children who are low-income earners themselves. We will raise the children’s monthly income criterion from $1,000 to $1,500, so that more needy elderly with adult children who are themselves in need will be eligible for PA.
There are also seniors with no family support but who have some regular payout, although these may not be sufficient for basic living expenses. In 2010, we extended the PA scheme to those receiving CPF payouts lower than the PA rate.
This benefitted eighty-five year old Madam Mawor and her sixty-seven year old daughter. They had struggled to survive on her daughter’s Minimum Sum payout of about $300 per month previously. They are coping better now with PA cash assistance and medical fee coverage. The community also assists them with meals delivery and food rations. We will help more families like Madam Mawor’s.
From April, needy elderly with non-CPF income sources below the PA rate will also be eligible for Public Assistance. These can include pensioners, and those receiving small payouts under the Lease Buy Back Scheme or ElderShield. Under PA, they can receive an additional cash grant over and above their pension or payouts.
Impact of ComCare Changes
With these enhancements, ComCare will reach out to many more Singaporeans. In FY 2011, MCYS disbursed about $70m through ComCare to help about 67,000 families. With the changes, we expect to disburse another $20m each year, for an additional 15,000 beneficiaries.
Protecting Problem Gamblers
Sir, strengthening our social safety nets is not only about disbursing more money. It is also about helping those with complex needs through other ways, such as counseling and protection. One such group is low-income gamblers who bet frequently or in large amounts.
I agree with Mr Desmond Lee that there is a need to protect these Singaporeans and their families from the potential harm of hard gambling. We are looking into targeted measures to protect the financially vulnerable and introducing “circuit breakers” for local frequent casino gamblers.
One part of this will be extending third-party casino exclusions to more groups receiving ComCare assistance. For other financially vulnerable groups, we are now studying with relevant agencies whether to extend exclusion coverage for them. We thank Mr Desmond Lee for his suggestions, and we will finalise the details within the next few months.
Striving Towards Better Effectiveness
Sir, as MPs, we also know of families who warrant help even though they may not meet ComCare criteria. We will need to reach out to those who do not know where to seek help, or what the different help schemes do. So that “hope” can become a reality for them as well.
Apart from enhancing ComCare schemes, MCYS will do more to raise awareness, simplify processes and improve delivery. To ensure that those at the margins do not fall through the cracks, we will also inject more flexibility in the administration of ComCare at the CDCs.
Mr Ang Hin Kee, Dr Janil Phuthucheary and others have cautioned that as we extend more support, we must not erode the work ethic or the desire to improve. I agree. Our assistance schemes should also give them a push, and provide them confidence to get back onto their feet. Depending on their circumstances, this could mean addressing their family issues, undergoing skills up-training, taking up a job or enrolling their children in proper care.
My Minister of State Mdm Halimah Yacob will elaborate on these other ComCare changes. They are as, if not more, important than revising coverage and raising subsidy levels. We need to do both.
Measures in Event of an Economic Downturn
Sir, we recognise that beyond these enhancements, more help will be needed in the event of an economic downturn. Mr Seah Kian Peng has asked about what we will do in such circumstances. I would like to assure Members that MCYS is ready to respond.
We are prepared to exercise greater flexibility on ComCare eligibility criteria so that those who need urgent and temporary assistance because of the downturn will receive help.
We will provide additional manpower and funding to the CDCs and FSCs, so that they can deal with the increase in people seeking help. Measures are in place to quickly ramp up manpower for the ComCare hotline during this time.
We will also provide additional funds to the VWOs to help cushion the fall in charity dollars during a downturn. This will enable them to focus their attention on helping affected Singaporeans.
More Support for the Elderly & Disabled
Sir, the Ministry’s strengthening of our social safety net goes beyond ComCare. We understand the need to pay added attention to specific groups who face tougher challenges.
One such group is the elderly, whose numbers will increase significantly in the coming years. MCYS will broaden support to the elderly, especially for community- and home-based care services. This will enable our seniors to age in place, with their loved ones in familiar surroundings. It will also bring much needed relief for their caregivers, especially those who are still working. My Minister of State will give further details of what we plan to do in this area.
We also want to help our seniors to stay healthy, active and socially connected. Senior Minister of State Mr Heng Chee How will elaborate on our plans to promote Active Ageing.
Another group of Singaporeans whom we will extend more support to are persons with disabilities. Their numbers may be small, but how well they are integrated in our society speaks volumes about our inclusiveness.
In September last year, we convened a Committee to come up with a new Enabling Masterplan for persons with disabilities. The Committee has submitted its recommendations on providing better support for them through their life stages. I would like to express my thanks to the Committee led by Mr Chua Chin Keat.
My Ministry shares the Committee’s vision for Singapore to be a society where persons with disabilities are empowered and recognised. Where they can participate fully in activities, and be respected for who they are – equal, integral, and contributing members to our society. To feel at home in Singapore.
We will provide more support and resources towards the furthering of this goal. As recommended by the Committee, we will look into empowering persons with disabilities over their entire life cycle.
We have carefully considered all the recommendations. My Senior Parliamentary Secretary Mr Sam Tan will outline our specific plans and responses.
Sir, let me now turn to our second key thrust – developing the social service sector.
The needy and less fortunate amongst us have traditionally been cared for, and helped by, our social service sector. The sector, with its strong spirit of initiative, activism and self-help, exemplifies the “Heart” of an inclusive society.
Demands on the sector will rise in the coming years along with socio-demographic changes. Many families, not only the poor or vulnerable, will require social services. More of us will be “sandwiched” between caring for our elderly parents and supporting our young children. Community- and home-based social services will be needed in larger numbers and variety.
Mr Alex Yam and Mr Vikram Nair have pointed out the need to support and strengthen the sector. Before I share our plans, let me first touch on what we must preserve, which is no less important.
Even as we evolve the sector, we will maintain our fundamental approach of the Public-Private-People (3P) partnership. It is an approach that brings together the unique strengths of the stakeholders. It is also one that adds to our social capital, and engenders greater ownership among citizens, attributes which Mr Laurence Lien and Ms Penny Low have spoken about.
Many of our social services today are borne from the passion and conviction of the People sector.
In 1979, the Asian Women’s Welfare Association (or AWWA for short) took on the challenge of providing services to children with multiple disabilities. These children were staying at home, with no school or programme available to meet their needs. Together with a team of volunteer nurses, teachers, a journalist, a social worker and other volunteers, AWWA started the AWWA’s Handicapped Children’s Playgroup for seven children.
From its humble beginnings, the playgroup grew and developed into a professional educational service to educate and train children with multiple disabilities, shaping what is known as Early Intervention Programme for Infants and Children today. AWWA is now running early intervention programmes for more than 150 children. It also runs a Special Education school for older kids with disabilities.
People sector organisations like AWWA and their professionals and volunteers remain central to the social service sector. They provide the personal touch, and customised, ground-up solutions that are hard to replicate. They are also better able to mobilise networks and resources on the ground.
The Private sector also has a role to play. We have seen more corporate giving over the years. This is a trend which we should continue to encourage.
Beyond financial resources, there is room for the private sector to be more involved in the sharing of ideas and management expertise, and in offering services and solutions. Their involvement will add vibrancy to the sector, offering users more choices and options.
Bion Advance is a company founded by Mr Ong Zhi Yang, a biological science graduate from NTU. The company specialises in the supply of senior mobility aids and products. Having a heart for seniors, Mr Ong sponsored senior mobility aids to seniors at South West Community Development Council. To date, Bion has donated 100 new designed walking sticks to the CDC. In addition, the company serves as the “walking dictionary” for the CDC officers looking for advice on senior mobility devices. Its technical team provides regular and helpful support for the CDC’s elderly clients.
We will continue to set appropriate policies and to put in resources in social services. We also have an important role to play in encouraging and facilitating sector-wide initiatives, which individual players will find hard to pursue on their own accord.
There are three areas in particular which MCYS will do more in the social service sector. They are (i) Building professional capability; (ii) Raising productivity; and (iii) Transforming crucial services. The first two areas are broad-based efforts, while the third requires targeted initiatives.
The social service sector is a “high-touch” sector where the human touch and cultural sensitivity are paramount. It is served by two groups of dedicated individuals. The first group comprises the volunteers, who give of their own time to serve a social cause, out of a spirit of compassion and giving without remuneration. The other group is the social service professionals who are employed full time in areas requiring specialist expertise. They include social workers, counsellors, early intervention teachers, therapists and programme developers and coordinators. A social worker, for example, is trained and qualified with at least a Bachelor’s Degree in social work.
The two groups must work hand in hand for a thriving social service sector. As Members of the House have mentioned, we need more of both groups in order to meet the growing demands of the social service sector.
Mr Alex Yam and Mr Vikram Nair asked what MCYS will do to attract people to take up professional work in the social service sector. And how do we build up manpower capability in the sector.
MCYS will implement a comprehensive social service sector manpower development plan over the next few years.
First, we will increase the supply of key social service professionals. We will widen training pipelines and provide more scholarships to attract promising and passionate Singaporeans to join the sector. Concurrently, we will raise awareness of social sector jobs through public education and outreach.
Mr Seah Kian Peng asked about the progress of our recent campaign to encourage Singaporeans to join the social work profession. The campaign, developed in consultation with social workers, featured the real-life experiences of social workers and the people they helped.
The campaign has made some progress in generating awareness. We hope to turn the awareness into recruitment. The National Council of Social Service and the Singapore Association of Social Workers have received more career enquiries. We have also seen an increase in interest in WDA’s mid-career Professional Conversion Programme.
However, some members of the public and the disability community have given us feedback that one of the four posters – the one showing two persons with disability – could be interpreted as the community being labelled as “hopeless”.
Sir, this is most unfortunate. I would like to assure everyone that it is never our intention to belittle persons with disabilities, or for that matter, any of the persons whom social workers help.
What the ad seeks to portray are the complex emotions felt when the real person featured in the ad first suffered the loss of his leg – a sense of hopelessness. And to convey the role a professional social worker plays in helping him rebuild his confidence and rise above the situation. To achieve this, the courage and the determination of the disabled person are crucial.
We want to do more, and we want to do better, in our effort to get more Singaporeans to be a part of the social service sector. It is not easy to express the complex emotions which some of our communities experience and the impact that the social workers have, and that they can make. We will aspire to improve with each campaign.
Increase in Funding and Salary Norms
Sir, apart from widening the pipeline, we will also have to ensure that pay levels of social service professionals are competitive. The bulk of them are employed by VWOs, many of which receive government funding for services and programmes.
With effect from 1 July this year, MCYS will raise our funding norms. MCYS will put in an additional $10 million a year.
A large part of this will go towards the salaries of social service professionals. Social workers can expect their salaries to be increased by up to 15% later in the year. Other social service professionals will also see increases in their salaries. Our aim is to make the salaries of these professionals comparable to their peers in other sectors with similar job scopes.
Third, we will enhance career advancement and professional development opportunities. We will continue to fund skills acquisition and upgrading. For social service professionals with leadership potential, Ms Denise Phua will be pleased to note that NCSS launched a Social Service Talent Development scheme last October, to provide them with structured career development pathways.
Many more development opportunities will be offered through the Social Service Training Institute, which will be significantly expanded. Over time, we will build up SSTI as a focal point for professional development for this sector.
Raising Productivity in the Social Service Sector
Sir, over the last year, this House has had a wide-ranging debate over Singapore’s manpower constraints and the need to raise productivity. Like other sectors, the social service sector is not immune to these challenges. We too must put in a concerted effort to raise our productivity.
Ms Penny Low spoke about enhancing the use of InfoComm Technology (ICT) in the social service sector. I agree with Ms Low that ICT can be a key enabler for productivity gains and service improvements.
Take the example of Thye Hua Kwan Tele-Home Care. This is a pilot initiative that links the elderly in the community and their care managers through the use of ICT. Each elderly participating in the project receives a video-conferencing device, which has been modified to be elderly-friendly, for them to connect to their case managers via Skype.
With this arrangement, case managers can continue to follow up on their clients who require close monitoring after regular home visits. It also enables case managers to better communicate with their clients through audio-video interaction while reducing travelling time and transportation costs for the case managers to perform follow-up visits. Overall, there is an improvement in efficiency as well as effectiveness.
There is much scope to deploy ICT in the social service sector, such as what Thye Hua Kwan had done with Tele-Home Care. To give a push on this front, MCYS, together with NCSS and IDA, will work with the sector on a Social Service Sector ICT Masterplan.
We intend to put more ICT tools in the hands of social service professionals, such as the use of mobile devices by social workers who make home visits and conduct off-site programmes. At the organisation level, we want to increase ICT awareness and spur ICT adoption. We have set for ourselves a target of raising the ICT capability of 400 VWOs over the next five years. And we agree with Members who say that we need to use and deploy the finite number of social workers where they are doing best, which is forward to help the people. While we try to sort out the back-end through technology, to help them take away the administrative burdens.
Across the sector, we should use technology to improve information management and data-sharing. We will certainly consider the suggestions of Ms Foo Mee Har and Ms Denise Phua to develop databases for client profiles and case management, so that social service providers can have a holistic view of client needs and provide timely assistance. The ultimate goal is more seamless and effective social services to the clients. We will have to pursue this carefully while putting in place safeguards to protect sensitive personal information.
To encourage social service organisations to take advantage of the professional development and productivity improvement opportunities I have outlined, we will launch the third tranche of the VWOs-Charities Capability Fund (VCF).
We will commit $100m to the VCF over the next five years. This is almost double the amount for the last tranche.
Ms Denise Phua and Ms Penny Low will be happy to know that the VCF will also support ground-up social innovation. It will provide funding to experiment with new innovative ideas that address service needs.
Transforming Crucial Services
Lastly, we will complement our broad-based efforts on professional capability and productivity with more targeted strengthening of crucial services. This requires working closely with relevant players and diving deeply into sub-sectors or services to address their unique challenges.
Take the example of therapy services. It is needed, but not in a large scale, by individual VWOs – and not by all VWOs. Rather than having individual small VWOs hire a therapist each, we are adopting a “hub-and-spoke” concept. We are working with the Society for the Physically Disabled to build up their “Therapy Hub” so they can provide therapy services to other VWOs.
Smaller VWOs that do not require a full-time therapist can acquire services from the Therapy Hub on a needs basis. Therapists will be more productively engaged. They will also enjoy better skills and career development.
Similar transformations are needed in many other services. A particular one of growing importance is eldercare, which my Minister of State Mdm Halimah will speak about later.
A Role for Different Players
Sir, the social service sector is a large and diverse field. Within each transformed landscape, we will have a range of VWOs with different expertise and scales. They will have both employed professionals as well as volunteers.
There is room for niche operators, like the Autism Resource Centre (Singapore), whose value lies in providing specialised services.
Over the years, ARC has developed a specialised niche in autism services. It is often looked upon as a first-stop resource for the public and professionals wanting to learn more about autism. ARC has also contributed significantly to the body of knowledge on autism in the sector, through its initiatives such as the WeCAN Learning Congress and the Autism Early Intervention Shared Portal launched in April last year.
There is also a need for large-scale multi-service operators, like TOUCH Community Services, that are able to offer services on a large scale and with wide variety.
Since its establishment in 1986, TOUCH Community Services has been actively responding to the needs of the community and has since expanded to more than 17 programmes, serving clients from all walks of life. With its broad suite of programmes, TOUCH Community Services is able to provide comprehensive services to meet the diverse and complex needs of its clients.
For such large-scale operators, they enjoy economies of scale. They also provide better route of advancement and development opportunities for their people.
What we want to do is to help VWOs - large or small, multi-service or specialised - to deliver services to clients to the best of their ability.
Sir, I have outlined my ministry’s key thrusts to build a Fair and Inclusive Society – a better Home for all Singaporeans.
Inclusiveness is however not just about MCYS schemes or other government programmes. Neither is it just about giving more help.
Rather, it is, as some Members have pointed out, also about wider community support and larger societal attitudes towards one another.
Ultimately, it is Singaporeans ourselves who will make Singapore our Home - which not just offers Hope, but also has a Heart. I invite all Singaporeans to join hands in building this inclusive society of Hope, Heart and Home for ourselves.
Let me invite Mdm Halimah to continue.
