Latest > Uncategorized > Commentary
Parliamentary questions by Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang from 4 Mar to 6 Mar 2020
1) To ask the Prime Minister whether the Government will consider incentivising fathers to take their Government-Paid Paternity Leave (GPPL) by providing additional leave to couples which can be used by either the mother or father where the father has consumed his full entitlement of GPPL.
2) To ask the Minister for Transport whether the Ministry will conduct independent environmental assessments and release regular reports to the public on the implementation and effectiveness of mitigation measures during the construction of the Cross Island MRT Line within and around the Central Catchment Nature Reserve.
3) To ask the Minister for National Development what percentages of public sector buildings, excluding schools, with air-conditioned floor areas of (i) at least 10,000 sqm and (ii) at least 5,000 sqm and less than 10,000 sqm, are respectively certified as BCA Green Mark Gold Plus and BCA Green Mark Gold.
4) To ask the Minister for National Development what steps will the Ministry take to encourage more primary schools, secondary schools, mixed-level schools, junior colleges and centralised institutes to achieve at least the BCA Green Mark Gold certification.
5) To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources whether the Ministry will consider creating a Singapore Carbon Agreement to facilitate the exchange of best practices for emission reductions across the 23 major sectors of Singapore’s economy following the model of tripartite collaborations like the Singapore Packaging Agreement.
6) To ask the Prime Minister whether there are plans to expand the Green Bond Grant Scheme with stricter regulations to ensure the adherence to the Scheme’s definition of eligible expenses.
7) To ask the Prime Minister
(a) whether the National Climate Change Secretariat has conducted a study on the impact and mitigation factors of climate change on low-income groups;
(b) if so, what are the results of the study; and
(c) if not, whether it will consider conducting such a study.
8) To ask the Minister for Law for each year of the past five years
(a) what is the number of court applications involving a spouse who refuses to comply with court orders pertaining to the sale of the matrimonial home;
(b) for these applications, what is the average and mean duration of the application from the date of the initial order requiring the sale of the matrimonial home;
(c) what is the average and mean number of previous applications also involving such non-compliance by the spouse; and
(d) if such data is not currently collected, whether the Ministry will consider collecting such data.
9) To ask the Minister for Law for each year of the past five years
(a) how many cases has an Assistant Registrar been required to sign on documents for the sale of the matrimonial property because of refusal by the spouse to sign the sale documents;
(b) for these applications, what is the average and mean duration of the Assistant Registrar’s signing from the date of the initial order requiring the sale of the matrimonial home;
(c) what is the average and mean number of previous applications also involving such noncompliance by the spouse to sign the sale documents; and
(d) if such data is not currently collected, whether the Ministry will consider collecting such data.
10) To ask the Minister for National Development for the nine licence fee categories in Part II and Part III of the First Schedule of the Animal and Birds (Dog Licensing Rules), how many
(i) dog farms and
(ii) pets shops respectively, have paid the licence fee in
(i) 2018 and
(ii) 2019 respectively under each category.
11) To ask the Minister for Education
(a) whether the Ministry has conducted a study on students from Special Assistance Plan (SAP) schools for their attitudes towards inclusivity and respect for people of different cultural backgrounds;
(b) if so, to what extent do the results of these studies diverge from those of students from non-SAP schools; and
(c) if not, whether the Ministry will consider conducting such a study.
12) To ask the Minister for Health what is the rationale for banning ex-offenders from donating blood within one year of their prison release.
13) To ask the Minister for National Development whether the Ministry will consider providing more incentives, including partial funding, for shopping malls to install tactile paving to aid the visually impaired.
14) To ask the Minister for National Development in each year over the past 10 years, how many veterinarians have received
(i) written warnings
(ii) composition fines and
(iii) suspension or revocation of their veterinary licences as a result of their failure to advise their clients about non-surgical alternatives to declawing cats and debarking dogs or to ensure that all reasonable efforts have been made to manage cat scratching or dog barking problems prior to performing any surgery.
15) To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development whether the Ministry will study the possibility of introducing a minimum staff-to-child ratio at places of safety to ensure children residing there receive the necessary care and support.