Mr Lui Tuck Yew: Public transport vouchers are one-off assistance measures to help mitigate the impact of public transport (PT) fare increases for low-income families.
Table 1 (
http://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/topic.jsp?currentTopicID=00005025-WA¤tPubID=00004931-WA&topicKey=00004931-WA.00005025-WA_1%2BhansardContent43a675dd-5000-42da-9fd5-40978d79310f%2B)
below shows the number of PT vouchers made available and encashed since 2007. No vouchers were disbursed in 2009, 2010 and 2012 as there were no fare increases in those years. No family has been left out due to insufficient supply.
The Fare Review Mechanism Committee is currently reviewing the public transport concessions framework to ensure that fares are kept affordable, including for low-income earners.
16092013 -INCOME THRESHOLD FOR GST VOUCHER
Ms Lee Li Lian asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance with regard to the cash component of the GST Voucher (a) why is the Assessable Income (AI) of $24,000 used as a threshold for eligibility; (b) whether the Ministry plans to review this threshold in light of inflation and, if so, when; and (c) whether basic annual salary instead of AI can be used to determine eligibility.
The Senior Minister of State for Finance (Mrs Josephine Teo) (for the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance): Mdm Speaker, the GST Voucher helps lower- and middle-income Singaporeans with their costs of living. It comprises three components: Cash, Medisave and U-Save.
Of these three components, the GST Voucher – Cash is targeted at those who are less well-off and who require the most help in meeting immediate needs. We have used as an eligibility criterion an Assessable Income threshold of $24,000 as this covers the bottom 40% of Singaporean workers. It also covers those who do not earn an income, such as housewives and retirees.
It is appropriate for a nation-wide scheme like the GST Voucher that we use Assessable Income instead of basic annual salary as a measure of how well-off a person is. Assessable Income includes other forms of income from employment, such as allowances, bonuses and commissions, which can be significant sources of earnings in certain jobs. It also includes other income, such as rental income. It is fair and transparent that these sources of income are counted in. If instead we use basic annual salary, as Ms Lee Li Lian suggests, those who are well-off because they earn large commissions or bonuses will also benefit from the GST Voucher – Cash.
We, therefore, use Assessable Income as the criterion. The Assessable Income threshold is reviewed every year, and our reviews will take into account changes in incomes, to ensure that we continue to target those who need the most help.
Ms Lee Li Lian (Punggol East): Mdm Speaker, I thank the Senior Minister of State for the reply. I have one supplementary question: whether the Ministry can consider, as I have mentioned earlier in my PQ, using basic salary instead of Assessable Income, with the provision that the Assessable Income is not more than a certain number of times of the basic salary, since allowances make up a substantial portion of low-income workers’ pay. As such, they may inadvertently be left out of the scheme. For the Ministry’s consideration, please.
Mrs Josephine Teo: Mdm Speaker, I thought I should perhaps point out that of the three components of the GSTV Voucher, only the GST Voucher – Cash uses Assessable Income as a criterion. GSTV – U-Save and GSTV – Medisave, in fact, do not use Assessable Income. Also, in addition to the GST Voucher, there were other types of assistance in this year’s Budget. For example, HDB households were eligible to receive Service and Conservancy Charges rebates. Individuals could also receive Medisave top-ups or benefit from enhancements to the Workfare Income Supplement. And Singaporeans who need additional assistance could also turn to the Community Development Councils to tap on other schemes available. Nonetheless, I would like to thank Ms Lee for her suggestion and it is something that we will look at when we review the Assessable Income threshold.
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08072013 - SAFEGUARDING SINGAPOREANS’ HEALTH DURING OCCURRENCE OF HAZE
Ms Lee Li Lian: asked the Minister for Health (a) what effort has been made to make parents more aware of the advice that N95 masks are not designed for children; and (b) whether the Government intends to make available masks that are certified for children in public health emergencies.
Mr Gan Kim Yong: Ms Lee asked about N95 masks. The N95 masks are not specifically designed for use by children, nor have they been certified for effectiveness for such use. To be effective, N95 masks need to maintain a well-fitted seal at all times, which may be difficult to achieve in young children who are smaller and of varying sizes. It is possible for the older children who may be able to fit smaller sized N95 masks for adults. Parents who wish to buy these masks for their children should ensure proper fit and usage of the mask.
When haze reaches unhealthy levels, children should really be kept indoors as much as possible. This has been communicated to the public through various platforms including the mass media and online media. Since schools reopened last week, MOH has been working with the Ministry of Education and schools on the various mitigation measures, based on the health advisory of the day.
08072013 - CLASSIFICATION OF DENGUE CLUSTERS
Ms Lee Li Lian: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources whether the Government takes into consideration that dengue victims may be bitten at areas outside of their place of residence when classifying an area as a dengue cluster.
Dr Vivian Balakrishnan: The National Environment Agency (NEA) conducts epidemiological investigations to trace the movement history of dengue patients so as to pinpoint the likely sources of dengue transmission. NEA classifies an area as a dengue cluster when the workplaces or residences of 2 or more dengue patients whose fever onset dates are within 14 days of each other are less than 150 metres NEA officers carry out intensive search and destroy operations of mosquito breeding habitats at both indoor and outdoor areas within dengue clusters. NEA will also extend vector control operations beyond the identified dengue clusters to MRT stations, markets, food centres and other congregation areas if it suspects that there is dengue transmission at these places.
08072013 - FOOD CENTRES AT RIVERVALE DELTA
Ms Lee Li Lian: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether there will be plans to have food centres in the upcoming BTO project 'Rivervale Delta'; and (b) whether the Ministry would consider doing so if there are no such plans.
Mr Khaw Boon Wan: There is no plan to include a food centre in the Rivervale Delta BTO project as there are adequate food and beverage (F&B) facilities nearby. For example, there is a cluster of shops at Block 182A Rivervale Crescent, right next to the new BTO. The shops include one eating house, one minimart and one cake shop. In addition, Rivervale Mall is about a five to 10 minute-walk away. It has a wide range of F&B outlets, including an NTUC Foodfare foodcourt.
08072013 -AVENUES FOR PUBLIC TO REPORT PROFITEERING FROM SALE OF N95 MASKS BY RETAILERS AND INDIVIDUALS
Ms Lee Li Lian: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry what avenues are there for the public to report profiteering by retailers or individuals from the sale of N95 masks and what action will the Government take against retailers or individuals who are profiteering from such sales.
Mr Lim Hng Kiang: The Government has various channels for the public to provide feedback on issues and
concerns. The Retail Price Watch Group, or RPWG, keeps a watch out for excessive price increases of daily essential goods and anti-competitive behaviour. The RPWG website (
www.retailpricewatch.sg) was set up as a information and feedback platform to reach out to the public. RPWG members are from both the private and public sectors, and include Mayors, business leaders from the retail sector, as well as officials from the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA), Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) and Consumer Association of Singapore (CASE).
Consumers who come across unfair trading practices can report them to CASE. Any substantiated reports of anti-competitive practice that come to Government’s attention will also be referred to CCS for investigation.
08072013 - POTENTIAL SITES FOR MORE FOOD CENTRES IN PUNGGOL EAST
Ms Lee Li Lian: To ask the Minister for National Development whether there are plans to identify potential sites in Punggol East for more food centres.
Mr Khaw Boon Wan: Currently, there are 12 food establishments in Punggol East. These comprise four eating houses/foodcourts and eight cafés/restaurants. HDB will provide more food establishments in Punggol East, in tandem with its future public housing developments there.
