14th Parliament Sittings

#1: 31 Aug - 04 Sep 2020
#2: 05 Oct - 06 Oct 2020

[Parl Work Summary] 31 Aug - 4 Sep and 5-6 Oct seating (1).png
[Parl Work Summary] 31 Aug - 4 Sep and 5-6 Oct seating (2).png

#Heartware4Environment

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Prime Minister (a) what policies is MAS studying to address climate risks posed by the high climate-risk sectors that have been identified in the Guidelines to Responsible Financing Practices published by the Association of Banks in Singapore in 2018; and (b) whether the Ministry can share how the MAS will be working with banks to develop their responsible financing policies in relation to these high climate-risk sectors.

More info here: Facebook Post
Read the full Parliamentary Question and Response here.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) what measures is the Ministry studying to assist individuals who are negatively affected by second-hand cigarette smoke from their neighbours smoking within their HDB flats; and (b) whether the Ministry has studied the effectiveness and receptiveness of bans on residents smoking at their balconies and windows implemented at some condominiums.
More details at: www.facebook.com/536892913818215
Hansard: https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/sprs3topic...

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Law in each of the past two years (a) how many cases of neighbour disputes arising from second-hand cigarette smoke have been mediated successfully by HDB; (b) how many cases have proceeded to the Community Mediation Centre and mediated successfully; (c) how many cases are filed with the Community Disputes Resolutions Tribunals; and (d) what is the extent of increase or decrease in the number of such cases after the start of the circuit breaker period.
More details at: www.facebook.com/3953123158048131
Hansard: https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/sprs3topic...

[Parl Work Summary] 31 Aug - 4 Sep and 5-6 Oct seating (3).png

#Heartware4Animals

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for National Development (a) whether it will set up an independent committee comprising stakeholders such as veterinarians, animal welfare groups, dog trainers, and dog owners to study the issue of euthanasia of physically healthy pet dogs; (b) if so, what is the Ministry's timeline for setting up this committee; and (c) if not, how will the Ministry ensure that the stakeholders are adequately engaged.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for National Development whether the Ministry will include in a set of guidelines on the euthanasia of healthy pets the requirement for pet owners to explore returning the animal to the person or organisation they adopted the animal from before proceeding with the euthanasia.
More details at: http://www.facebook.com/3947307391963041/
Hansard: https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/sprs3topic...
Hansard: https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/sprs3topic...

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for National Development (a) in each of the past five years, what is the number of prosecutions that have been brought in relation to instances of illegal wildlife trade; (b) of these prosecutions, how many also involved charges of corruption, money-laundering or fraud; and (c) whether the Ministry will start collecting this data if it is not available.
More details at: www.facebook.com/4082318688461910
Hansard: https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/sprs3topic...

[Parl Work Summary] 31 Aug - 4 Sep and 5-6 Oct seating (4).png

#Heartware4Inclusivity

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Social and Family Development whether the Ministry will consider extending the Development Support and Learning Support Programme to children who are differently abled at the nursery levels.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Prime Minister whether the Government will consider providing extra childcare leave for parents of differently abled children to attend developmental assessments, medical and therapy appointments.

More details at: https://www.facebook.com/4056190074408105/
Hansard: https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/sprs3topic...
Hansard: https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/sprs3topic...

[Parl Work Summary] 31 Aug - 4 Sep and 5-6 Oct seating (5).png

#Heartware4Families #Heartware4Inclusivity

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Social and Family Development for each year in the past five years under the Government-Paid Childcare Leave (GPCL) Scheme, what is the median number of days of childcare leave taken per year by (i) female employees and (ii) male employees respectively.
More details at: https://www.facebook.com/3947328131960967/
Hansard: https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/sprs3topic...

(Supplementary Question) Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang (Nee Soon): Thank you, Sir. I thank the Minister for the response. I note that we are now at about 50% of our work-from-home policy, but I think Minister Lawrence Wong originally said that we should embrace working from home even after the circuit breaker ends. So, can I just check whether the Government still stands by that statement?

Second, I think working from home has allowed more fathers to play an active role in child care-giving duties. I am just wondering whether the Government has studies or will be studying whether our work-from-home policies can contribute towards levelling the child care-giving duties at home and hence, tackling this gender stereotype?

Watch Parliament Debate: www.facebook.com/watch/?v=479149536377536
Hansard: https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/sprs3topic...

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry will legislate the right for all employees to request flexible work arrangements and require employers who reject the request to provide a specific business-related reason.

More details here: https://www.facebook.com/4056153581078421/
Hansard: https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/sprs3topic...

(Supplementary Question) Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang (Nee Soon): Thank you, Sir. Two clarifications for the Minister. First, I think she mentioned there are 1,200 companies on the FCF Watchlist. Could I ask how many of these companies are there because of discrimination against women and on family responsibilities?
Second, on the earlier suggestion that I made this week, on whether we can legislate these guidelines on fair employment practices. I think it makes a bit of sense. If you discriminate against Singaporeans and hire foreigners, we will restrict or curtail your work pass privileges; we do not allow you to hire foreigners. That sort of makes sense. But if you discriminate against women and mothers, and the penalty is that you cannot hire foreigners, then I hope the Minister agrees with me that that does not really make sense. So, the question is whether we can legislate these guidelines, have proper penalties in place that will serve as a better deterrence against discrimination against women and mothers.
View full debate here: www.facebook.com/watch/?v=720861462103551
Hansard: https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/sprs3topic...

(Supplementary Question) Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang (Nee Soon): Thank you, Sir. Can I ask the Minister whether he can confirm that the tripartite guidelines or advisory will make clear that employers should not request for information on a person's mental health condition unless the condition has a direct connection with their ability to perform the job role.

More details at: https://www.facebook.com/4051852651508514/
Hansard: https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/sprs3topic...

[Parl Work Summary] 31 Aug - 4 Sep and 5-6 Oct seating (6).png

#Heartware4Inclusivity

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Health (a) in each year of the past five years, for systemic lupus erythematosus and spondyloarthritis respectively, what is (i) the number of Singaporeans and permanent residents with the condition and (ii) the number of unique patients seeking outpatient care in public hospitals; and (b) whether the Ministry will start collecting this data if it is not available.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Health (a) for each year in the past five years, for systemic lupus erythematosus and spondyloarthritis respectively, what is (i) the average and median number of outpatient visits in public hospitals per unique patient and (ii) the average and median costs of each outpatient visit in public hospitals; and (b) whether the Ministry will start collecting this data if it is not available.

More details at: http://facebook.com/4055627631131016/
Hansard: https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/sprs3topic...
Hansard: https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/sprs3topic...

[Parl Work Summary] 31 Aug - 4 Sep and 5-6 Oct seating (7).png

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Prime Minister whether the Government intends to abolish the Civil Service performance management system of stack ranking.

More details at: http://www.facebook.com/4059735560720223/
Hansard: https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/sprs3topic...

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Prime Minister whether the Government intends to abolish the use of Current Estimated Potential (CEP) within the Civil Service.

More details at: http://www.facebook.com/4055677081126071/
Hansard: https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/sprs3topic...

(Supplementary Question) Thank you, Sir. I thank the Minister of State for the reply as well. I understand that the foreign domestic workers or FDWs can be deployed outside their registered address if they are looking after the young children and the senior parents or the elderly parents of the employers. Could I ask whether moving forward, MOM can require a documented consent from the FDW if they are going to be deployed outside the registered address? That way, I think it can sort of resolve some of the disputes that have been raised at MOM level.
More details at: https://www.facebook.com/4056467827713663/
Hansard: https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/sprs3topic...

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Home Affairs whether the Ministry will consider allowing foreign domestic workers and other work permit holders to be accompanied by non-legal personnel in Police interviews, similar to the Appropriate Adult Scheme.

More details at: https://www.facebook.com/4018197084874071/
Hansard: https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/sprs3topic...

Previous

2020 Oct & Nov Sitting