[h=5]
The Workers' Party[/h]
[h=2]Parliamentary Questions for 3 November 2014[/h]
November 3, 2014 at 7:28am
In Parliament this week, WP MPs raise questions on Singapore's preparedness in dealing with the Ebola virus, unemployment rates among young degree holders, labour productivity rates, scope of works for the Home Improvement Programme, number of Long Term Visit passes granted to foreign spouses, delay in completion of the East Coast stretch of the Thomson Line, and household expenditure data.
QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER*
*3. Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether the current Ebola screening measures at Changi Airport are effective in detecting the virus given that its symptoms may appear up to 21 days after exposure to Ebola and that it is difficult to verify travellers' self-declarations of their exposure to Ebola; (b) whether there are plans to use rapid diagnostic test kits to diagnose Ebola; and (c) what lessons have been learned from the cases of Ebola transmission in Texas, USA and Spain to prevent the same mistakes from occurring in Singapore should an Ebola-infected traveller get through our border checkpoints.
*4. Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what is the quantum and nature of assistance that Singapore has provided to countries in West and Central Africa to combat the spread of Ebola and treat patients infected with the virus; and (b) what further assistance Singapore plans to provide to the affected countries should the Ebola situation worsen.
*17. Mr Yee Jenn Jong: To ask the Minister for Manpower in light of the 2013 Labour Force Survey report which states that the unemployment rate for degree holders below the age of 30 is 7.4% (a) what are the reasons behind this relatively high unemployment rate; and (b) whether the Ministry is taking any measures to address this issue.
*27. Mr Yee Jenn Jong: To ask the Minister for Education (a) whether the Ministry has determined which are the schools that the 40 new school-based Student Care Centres (SCCs) will be located in; (b) what criteria does the Ministry use to determine the location of these SCCs; and (c) whether the Ministry has completed its study with the Ministry of Social and Family Development on the demand pattern for SCCs and, if so, whether the findings of the study can be made public.
*29. Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Trade andIndustry (a) whether the Government is satisfied with labour productivity growth of 2.2%, -1.4% and -0.2% in 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively vis-à-vis its stated target of 2-3% per year from 2010 to 2020; (b) what is theimpact of this low productivity performance on overall economic growth; and (c) how much longer the Ministry expects it will take for 2-3% productivity growth per year to be achieved.
*34. Mr Yee Jenn Jong: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister andMinister for Finance with regard to the new OECD Standard for AutomaticExchange of Financial Account Information (a) whether Singapore has committed to implementing the Standard; (b) if so, what is the time-table for implementation and the likely impact on Singapore's financial services institutions and other organisations; and (c) what will be the effect onSingapore as a financial hub.
*46. Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Minister for National Development whether the scope of works for the Home Improvement Programme can be modified for HDB flats with pitched roofs as the top floor units of such flats have false ceilings and owners will not benefit from the repair of spalling concrete under the current programme.
QUESTIONS FOR WRITTEN ANSWER
1. Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs (a) for the last 10 years, how many female visitors have been granted Long Term Visit Passes to accompany their children or grandchildren to study in Singapore on a student pass; and (b) what proportion of such persons remain in Singapore after their children or grandchildren have completed their studies and under what circumstances.
4. Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry whether the Household Expenditure Survey data can be broken down to quantify (i) the income and expenditure profile for the bottom 10% of households by income and (ii) the respective types of home ownership among the bottom 20% of households who spend more than what they earn.
14. Mr Low Thia Khiang: To ask the Minister for Transport what are the reasons for the completion of the East Coast stretch of the Thomson-East Coast Line in 2023/2024 instead of 2020 which is the date stated in theLand Transport Masterplan 2008 and LTA's Connect Newsletter April 2008.
17. Mr Yee Jenn Jong: To ask the Minister forSocial and Family Development whether the Ministry can report ComCare statistics in the form of the number of unique individuals and unique households who have actually received assistance, stripping out the effect of those who have received more than one form of assistance.