Parliamentary Questions I filed for September 2025
Education (MOE / SkillsFuture)
To ask the Minister for Education (a) whether an annual School Safety Scorecard per school will be published with anonymised bullying report totals, substantiation percentages, numbers of suspensions, transfers and serious sanctions; (b) whether a national anonymous anti-bullying reporting line will be established with trained responders; and (c) whether the Ministry will mandate minimum anti-bullying policy standards across all schools.
To ask the Minister for Education (a) what criteria warrant more than one full-time counsellor per school; (b) whether independent audits have assessed allocation adequacy; (c) if so, whether results will be published and when will allocations be revised; and (d) whether the Ministry will meet the American School Counsellor Association (ASCA) recommendation of 1:250 counsellor-to-student ratio.
To ask the Minister for Education given evidence that each additional one-degree Celsius increase in temperature reduces learning by 1–2% with greater impact on lower-income students (a) what is the Ministry’s assessment of “thermal inequality” between air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned classrooms; and (b) what specific hardware standards such as cooling, ventilation and insulation will ensure equitable, cognitively optimal learning environment for all students.
To ask the Minister for Education (a) what is the rationale for restricting the SkillsFuture Mid-Career Training Allowance to citizens aged 40 years and above since skills obsolescence affects all ages; (b) whether the Ministry will consider the reskilling needs of workers in their 30s; and (c) whether the Ministry will expand SkillsFuture to support postgraduate qualifications (i) in critical sectors or (ii) in general.
Early Childhood & MSF / ECDA
To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what are the specific and objective criteria used by ECDA to evaluate Partner Operator applications for preschool services beyond broad principles of quality and affordability; and (b) what is ECDA's policy on providing detailed written feedback to unsuccessful applicants, including to outline specific shortcomings against these criteria, to help them meet the required criteria for future applications.
To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) for each financial year in the last five years, what is the total quantum of Government grants and subsidies provided directly to operators of preschools under the (i) Anchor Operator and (ii) Partner Operator schemes, separate from subsidies disbursed to parents; and (b) what does this amount to on a per-enrolled-student basis for each scheme.
To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) what is the total estimated annual imputed rental value of all properties ultimately allocated to ECDA's Anchor Operators and Partner Operators for preschool services for which market-rate rent is not charged; and (b) how does the Ministry factor this in-kind subsidy when evaluating the financial efficiency of these preferential allocation schemes.
To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) whether personal tracking devices such as Apple AirTags qualify for subsidies under the Assistive Technology Fund; (b) if so, how many caregivers of children with autism obtained such devices in each of the last three years; and (c) whether the Ministry will proactively provide a starter device upon diagnosis via early-intervention centres.
Manpower & Worker Protection (MOM)
To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Ministry has any plan to audit employers which use Government traineeship grants to displace employees or serially replace former trainees rather than create new roles; (b) if so, what are the planned audit mechanisms; and (c) whether the Ministry has any plan to establish a public debarment list of errant companies to protect jobseekers from exploitative firms.
To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Ministry will provide that settlements mediated by the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management automatically become court judgments, with penalties for employer defaults; (b) if not, why not; and (c) how is the requirement for workers to commence separate court enforcement proceedings when an employer defaults assessed to balance employee interests against defaulting employers.
Trade, Industry, SMEs, R&D & Open Data (MTI)
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry (a) what is the Ministry's assessment of the effectiveness of the Fair Tenancy Code of Conduct in preventing exorbitant rental hikes for SMEs upon lease renewal; and (b) whether Government will legislate caps on renewal increases that are linked to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in the absence of material alterations or capital improvements by the landlord.
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry given the Lease Agreements for Premises Act and the Code of Conduct requiring landlords collecting gross-turnover rent to share biannual sales data (a) how does the Ministry monitor data granularity and compilation; and (b) whether the Ministry will mandate like-for-like standards (eg by trade category and floor/zone) and bar aggregation across non-equivalent categories or floor to ensure fair negotiation.
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry (a) what oversight ensures (i) commercial rents by landlords such as JTC and HDB remain affordable for SME tenants and (ii) that tenant-mix diversity by gross-floor-area includes a substantial share of SMEs or local brands; and (b) if not, how does the Government reconcile SME support with allowing purely commercial operations.
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry in respect of joint public-private R&D Corporate Laboratories (CLs) funded under the Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) plans (a) what percentage of jointly-created Intellectual Properties generate (i) zero or (ii) only nominal licensing revenue for the Singapore public entity; and (b) how is the Government ensuring taxpayers secure commensurate returns for such CLs.
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry (a) whether the Government will consider making national Earth-observation data from Singapore's satellites readily accessible to Singapore-based researchers, similar to the 2008 Landsat free-data policy and the European Copernicus Programme; and (b) if not, why not.
National Development, Urban Planning & Heritage (MND)
To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether risk assessment based on distant Sumatran quakes has been reviewed and updated following the recent seismic activity in Johor from the proximate Mersing Fault Zone; (b) what analysis assesses HDB blocks’ ability to withstand shaking from this nearer source; and (c) whether the Ministry will commit to targeted structural inspections for the most vulnerable older HDB estates.
To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what proportion of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) in the last five years required Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs); (b) how does the Ministry reconcile genuine consultation with NDAs that hinder informed discourse and scrutiny; and (c) whether the Ministry will publish clear guidelines defining exceptional conditions justifying EIA NDAs, making transparency the default.
To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what framework weighs the intangible civic and heritage value of a public library against the economic value of the land; (b) how is this value calculated and factored in the relocation of Ang Mo Kio and Geylang East public libraries; and (c) when does land optimisation yield to preserving non-commercial public spaces for knowledge and community purposes.
To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether the Ministry monitors commercial-vacancy durations and concentration by landlords; (b) whether prolonged vacancies reflect landlords asking high rents to protect valuations; (c) what is the Ministry’s assessment on the impact on (i) rental affordability and (ii) feasibility of a commercial vacancy tax; and (d) whether public disclosure of median rents and vacancy rates by building will be mandated.
Home Affairs & Public Safety (MHA / CNB / SCDF)
To ask the Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs (a) what percentage of pre-2018 HDB units lack Home Fire Alarm Devices (HFADs); (b) what cost-benefit analysis supports not mandating HFADs for older units when it is compulsory for new HDB homes; (c) whether HFADs will be mandated for all units/corridors of older HDB blocks; and (d) whether linkage to centralised building systems will be considered for efficient evacuations.
To ask the Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs (a) when and why did controlled shooting for crow management cease; (b) whether there is a timeline to review reinstatement; (c) whether crow-related public nuisance and safety threats in residential estates has escalated; and (d) if so, whether the Government has a framework to address such increased nuisance and threats.
Transport Safety (MOT / LTA / TSIB)
To ask the Acting Minister for Transport in respect of the Transport Safety Investigation Bureau’s report on the East-West Line train derailment on 25 September 2024 (a) why was the operator permitted to extend the overhaul interval of the 37-year-old KHI train by 38% without LTA's approval; (b) what engineering assessments justified this; and (c) how will such safety decisions face direct regulatory oversight henceforth.
Sustainability & Environment / Food (MSE / SFA)
To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) what is SFA’s definition of "local fish produce" including the minimum qualifying Singapore grow-out period; (b) what percentage of fish produce labelled "local" originates from fish stock imported at near-market size; and (c) what steps are taken to prevent importers from exploiting this loophole and to ensure that 30-by-30 statistics reflect genuine local production.
Culture, Community & Youth (MCCY / PA / SportSG)
To ask the Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) whether the Government will adjust the People's Association (PA) policy to grant elected opposition Members of Parliament fair and equitable access to community centre facilities for community engagement and welfare activities within their own constituencies; and (b) if so, when.
To ask the Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) whether leasing a high-traffic site at Yio Chu Kang Stadium to a major fast-food business aligns with SportSG’s mission to promote healthy living; (b) what health and nutritional criteria guided the tenancy evaluation; and (c) what is the Ministry’s assessment of making fast-food a convenient post-exercise option at Yio Chu Kang Stadium.