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Parliamentary Questions by WP MPs - 13 August sitting
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by
The Workers' Party on Sunday, August 12, 2012 at 1:51am ·
These are the questions that WP MPs have filed for the upcoming Parliament sitting on 13 August 2012 at 1.30pm:
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QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER
*4. Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance in each of the years from 2010 to date how many tenders in GeBiz attracted only one bidder; how many of such tenders were awarded subsequently; what is the average tender period in days for these awarded tenders; and what is the total value of these awarded tenders reported.
*10. Mr Yee Jenn Jong: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs whether the failure by ASEAN to issue a joint statement over how to deal with claims on disputed territories in the South China Sea has affected working relationships within ASEAN and between ASEAN and China.
*11. Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for Law regarding the conviction of Dr Woffles Wu for abetment of giving false information to the police in what manner did Dr Wu abet the giving of false information to the police; whether the Attorney-General's Chambers' statement of 17 June 2012 explaining the choice of charge against Dr Wu has addressed public concerns about the equitability of the legal system; and whether the Ministry has confirmation that written grounds of decision will be given by the sentencing court, despite there being no appeal pending.
*14. Mr Pritam Singh: To ask the Minister for National Development whether the Government discovered any discrepancies in the recent purchase of Brompton bicycles by the National Parks Board (NParks); whether the Ministry has investigated the purchase for possible breaches of procedures and possible conflict of interest between the sole tenderer and NParks officers and, if so, what are the results of the investigation; what was the urgency in purchasing the bicycles which accounts for the unusually short tender window; and whether the Ministry is reviewing its procurement procedures to introduce greater oversight of tender evaluations.
*15. Mr Pritam Singh: To ask the Minister for National Development with regard to the purchase of the Brompton bicycles, what prompted the Ministry to initiate audit proceedings on the procurement process; and what role did the online media, particularly the blog post on therealsingapore.com, play in the Ministry's decision to report the matter to CPIB; and the Ministry's press statement on 24 July 2012.
*23. Mr Yee Jenn Jong: To ask the Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports how many childcare centres are currently operated by for-profit private operators at HDB void decks and places managed by JTC Corporation; and restructured hospitals and buildings owned by the Government and statutory boards; what are the average monthly rents paid by these operators in these respective areas; and of the 200 new childcare centres to be built by 2018, how many of them will be situated at HDB void decks and places managed by JTC Corporation and what is the planned allocation of these centres between not-for-profit and for-profit organisations.
*32. Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Transport whether the lessons learnt from the Nicoll Highway collapse during the construction of the Circle Line in 2004 had been implemented in the Downtown Line construction project, and if these could have prevented the accident on 18 July 2012 that claimed the lives of two workers.
*36. Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs what procedures are in place to ensure that Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers attending to incidents are apprised of the hazards they face at the site before they are deployed thereto; and in the case of the SCDF officers attending to the collapsed roof at the Downtown Line on 18 July 2012, whether the chemical burns sustained were foreseen and could have been prevented.
*48. Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Education how are textbooks used by primary schools selected by the Ministry for inclusion in the Approved Textbook List (ATL); whether primary schools are allowed to select textbooks outside of the ATL as their primary text for a subject; and how does the Ministry ensure that all textbooks used by primary schools are of a uniform and sufficiently high standard to meet the demands of examinations, especially the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE).
*49. Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Education whether the textbooks used by primary schools are comprehensive enough to cover all the curriculum content examined during the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) without the need for supplementary content and/or materials provided by teachers or tuition centres.
*54. Mr Chen Show Mao: To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry will consider extending Work Injury Compensation Act coverage to casual workers and workers on short-term contracts for whom employer CPF contribution is mandatory, in particular those who earn $1,500 or less a month.
*55. Mr Chen Show Mao: To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower how many casual workers and workers on short-term contract currently earn S$1,500 or less a month; and how many of them are deemed "self-employed" or "independent contractors" who are not covered by the Work Injury Compensation Act.
*56. Mr Chen Show Mao: To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower in each of the years from 2009 to 2011 what was the percentage of casual workers and workers on short-term contract earning S$1,500 or less a month who suffered work-related injury; and what was the percentage for Singapore
*58. Mr Pritam Singh: To ask the Minister for National Development whether the ethnic limit of 25% for the Malay ethnic group at the block level in all HDB rental flats has been reached and, if so, when; whether HDB has plans to increase this limit for the Malay ethnic group at the block level; and whether HDB will consider allocating rental flats on a strict needs basis only to avoid rejection or delay as a result of the applicants' preference of rental zone.
*72. Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports with regard to the plan to build up to 40 Integrated Day Facilities (IDFs) serving up to 6,000 elderly by 2016 whether the plan to build new IDFs in Bishan-Toa Payoh and Tampines in 2012 will proceed; whether the plan to upgrade six existing Day Care/Day Rehabilitation Centres to IDFs in 2012 will go ahead and where these Day Care/Day Rehabilitation Centres are; what criteria are used to determine IDF sites and whether these include convertible old town centre facilities and areas having a higher than national average percentage of residents who are above 50 years old; and whether the Ministry will release a masterplan showing where and when the 40 IDFs will be built.
*75. Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for National Development what due diligence does the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) exercise before granting approval for condominium developers to use tempered glass in panels used as safety barriers at balconies despite the associated risk of spontaneous breakage; what led the BCA to require the use of laminated glass instead in such panels with effect from July 2011; and what is BCA's recommendation to resolve the safety issues for condominium developments which were constructed before application of the July 2011 ruling.
*76. Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Minister for National Development how are complaints and feedback on bird nuisance being handled at AVA now that the agency is tasked to coordinate the work of all agencies on this area whenever such problems arise; and what long-term solution is AVA looking at to tackle bird nuisance and when can the public expect such initiatives to roll out.
*98. Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports to date, how many Citizens' Consultative Committees, Community Club Management Committees, Residents' Committees, and Neighbourhood Committees are respectively registered under the People's Association; how many paid staff are there in each of these committees; and how much funding is given to each of these committees per year from 2005 to 2011.
*99. Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower in each of the years from 2004 to the first half of 2012 how many pregnancy and maternity-related complaints were received by the Ministry; how many of these were respectively rejected by the Ministry, resolved and payments made to employees, withdrawn by the employees, and referred to the Minister; how many of those referred to the Minister were resolved in favour of the employees and in favour of the employers; what are the reasons for withdrawals of complaints and whether the Ministry investigates withdrawals to protect employee interests; what criteria are used for rejecting complaints; how does the Ministry go about investigating complaints and whether investigations are carried out on the possibility that the case may go to court; and how does the Ministry determine that dismissals are due to performance and not maternity-related.
*100. Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Prime Minister in each of the years from 2004 to 2011, what percentage of companies offered paternity leave and what is the median length of such leave offered; and whether the Government will consider it timely to legislate for paternity leave of at least six days.
*103. Mr Yee Jenn Jong: To ask the Minister for Education how many pre-school centres have received the Singapore Pre-school Accreditation Framework (SPARK) certificate since its implementation; of the already accredited centres, how many are not-for-profit and how many are privately owned; how many pre-school centres have participated in SPARK's external assessment; and whether the Ministry is able to achieve its target of having 85% of all kindergartens and childcare centres participate in SPARK's external assessment by 2013.
QUESTIONS FOR WRITTEN ANSWER
2. Mr Chen Show Mao: To ask the Prime Minister as of 31 December 2000, 2005 and 2010 respectively, what is the number of Singapore citizens over the age of 21 years who are resident in Singapore.
8. Mr Yee Jenn Jong: To ask the Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts whether the Ministry will consider setting aside selected public spaces for visual artists to create street art and what are some of the considerations in terms of regulations and possible locations if such spaces are to be created.
12. Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts & Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs from 2006 to 2010 in the administration of Zakat under the 'Fisabilillah' category (Asnaf), what is the amount allocated by MUIS to the Madrasah Development and Assistance sub-category; and what are the annual amounts disbursed to each of the six full-time madrasahs and how are these amounts decided.
15. Mr Chen Show Mao: To ask the Minister for National Development what likely effect will 50-year home mortgage bank loans have on the prices, financing and affordability of HDB flats.
21. Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Health in light of our ageing population what is the Government's estimated total expenditure on healthcare and long-term care for the elderly in 2012; and what are the Government's projections for 2015, 2020, 2025 and 2030 at current birth rates and without immigration for tax revenues at current tax rates; and total Government expenditure on healthcare and long-term care for the elderly at current subsidy rates and at estimated enhanced subsidy rates respectively.
22. Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Health what are the specific underlying actuarial assumptions and actuarial adjustments made to the existing MediShield scheme that resulted in the proposed increases to the MediShield deductibles and premiums.
26. Mr Yee Jenn Jong: To ask the Minister for Education with regard to the priority granted for Primary One registration based on active community leadership by the child's parents what constitutes active community leadership; how many children have gained admission to primary schools yearly based on this priority over the past five years; and whether the Ministry plans to review the necessity for this priority.
[Source: Order Paper of Parliament -
http://www.parliament.gov.sg/sites/default/files/u12/Order Paper - 13 Aug 12.pdf]
