Parliamentary Questions I filed for November 2025

Oct 28, 2025

5 of the questions were carried over from the October sitting (which was shortened from 3 days to 2 days). Questions for oral answer in bold.

Education — Student & Staff Mental Health

To ask the Minister for Education: (a) given counsellor allocation relies on reported caseloads, how does MOE distinguish genuinely low need from demand suppressed by limited counsellor access; (b) what prospective metrics identify unmet need; and (c) whether educators’ own mental health needs are incorporated in the allocation.
To ask the Minister for Education: (a) whether the Ministry will review counsellor reporting structures to enhance confidentiality and trust, including models where counsellors report to a dedicated mental health body rather than solely to principals; (b) whether training on counselling ethics can be provided for school principals; and (c) what steps will increase qualified professional-to-student ratios and safeguard counsellor autonomy.

To ask the Minister for Education: (a) whether the Ministry will expand SkillsFuture Credit eligibility to include subscriptions for curated, high-quality AI productivity tools to facilitate hands-on learning; and (b) if not, why not.
To ask the Minister for Education: (a) how does the Ministry account for the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey 2024 findings showing that 75% of teachers use AI, but weekly work hours remain at around 47 since 2018 with rising stress levels; and (b) whether teacher workload reduction will be made a KPI alongside learning outcomes for AI adoption, with baselines, targets, timelines, and published results.

To ask the Minister for Education: for each of the last three years, (a) the median and 90th-percentile processing time for Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) applications from submission to final offer; (b) the share of candidates who passed the interview but withdrew before receiving an offer; and (c) whether prolonged timelines had compelled qualified candidates to seek alternative employment.

To ask the Acting Minister for Transport: (a) in each of the past three years, how many kilometres of resurfaced roads were re-excavated and what was the estimated cost to taxpayers; (b) what binding powers the Road Opening Coordination Committee holds to compel a consolidated dig-once schedule; and (c) why the Common Services Tunnel model is not applicable to new HDB towns and major redevelopment zones.
To ask the Acting Minister for Transport: given Kovan Wellspring BTO completion will increase peak traffic demands, (a) what are LTA’s plans on the congestion towards expressways along the Kovan–Serangoon corridor; (b) what bus and MRT capacity upgrades are planned to address current two-to-three train waits during morning rush in this area; and (c) what is the timeline for MRT-related relief and road improvements along the Kovan–Serangoon corridor.

To ask the Minister for National Development: (a) under what conditions the protected-species status of a wildlife animal will be reconsidered when it causes repeated economic damage to private property; (b) what criteria are used to classify an animal as a pest; and (c) whether otters meet such criteria.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry: (a) whether the deployment of the Private Credit Growth Fund will be pulled back given rising global private-credit risks; and (b) whether GIC’s caution on the private-credit market will inform the Ministry’s stance on the deployment of the Fund, or are the views separately held.
To ask the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance: (a) whether any individuals sanctioned by the US for alleged transnational criminal activities or convicted in Singapore’s largest money-laundering case had operated tax-exempt family offices locally; (b) what due-diligence checks MAS conducts before granting such incentives; and (c) what systemic reforms have been implemented to prevent criminal networks from exploiting Singapore’s family-office regime.

To ask the Minister for Law: whether the Government will designate a dog run on the state land parcel adjacent to Serangoon North View.

To ask the Minister for Manpower: whether the Ministry will consider prohibiting employers from requesting last-drawn salary information during recruitment to promote wage determination based on skills and role requirements, prevent anchoring and indexing of offers to prior pay, and mitigate disadvantages from unfavourable starting salaries.
To ask the Minister for Manpower: whether the Ministry will establish distinct (i) waste and cleaning and (ii) food and beverage sub-categories within the Services sector with differentiated dependency ratios and quotas, given their differing manpower requirements.

To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development: (a) what evaluation was done to conclude that cessation of the Integrated Childcare Programme (ICCP) that helped children with mild special needs was necessary in 2024; (b) what service gap was projected given that expansion of the Inclusive Support Programme (InSP) will only start from 2026; and (c) what like-for-like interim provisions are in place to ensure in-childcare support for affected children.

To ask the Coordinating Minister for Social Policies and Minister for Health: (a) whether polyclinic dental services will be expanded to include fabricating, repairing and fitting of dentures instead of having patients referred to tertiary institutions; and (b) whether current MediSave rules preventing claims for dentures can be reviewed.