The Social Development sector comprises six Ministries: Ministry of Education (MOE), Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of National Development (MND), Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS), Ministry of Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) and Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA).

This sector accounts for $13.9 billion or 42.2% of government expenditure in FY2007.

The Government aims to make Singapore the Best Home for all its citizens, where everyone has the opportunity to be the best he or she can be, and has a stake in Singapore’s success. Our strategy is to provide affordable housing, education, and basic healthcare for all with more targeted assistance for the needy; at the same time, the Government aims to build a world-class living environment, and a sense of identity and community that binds Singaporeans as one nation.

The Government aims to achieve the following outcomes:

• Quality Education
• Good, Affordable Healthcare
• Strong Families
• A Caring and Inclusive Society
• A World-Class Living Environment

Quality Education

Giving Singaporeans a quality education goes beyond improving quality in the classroom and the educational sector, to cater to the diverse talents of our students by broadening the range of options available to them.

• Give young Singaporeans a quality education in the classroom and beyond. MOE will set aside $3.2 billion to finance basic education for our young, and another $225 million to improve school facilities under the Programme for Rebuilding and Improving Existing schools (PRIME). In addition, to ensure that children receive a well-rounded education, MOE will invest another $32 million to build the first batch of indoor sports halls in all primary and secondary schools.
• Build human capital through the development of a quality higher education sector. In addition to $2.6 billion set aside to finance the provision of tertiary education by our universities, polytechnics and institutes of technical education, MOE will set aside $287 million to develop and expand capacity in the higher education sector and take the sector to the next level. Key initiatives include the development of a residential college system in NUS, the establishment of three new schools at NTU to develop NTU into a comprehensive university, and the establishment of the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School.
• Increase range of educational opportunities to cater to diverse talents. MOE has set aside $11 million to build capacity in schools offering the Integrated Programme. MOE also plans to set aside another $7 million to increase options for secondary schools students by introducing applied subjects and electives, as well as the Direct Polytechnic Admissions exercise.
• Nurture artistic and sporting talents. To increase the range of options available to students and enable them to further their artistic and sporting talents, MICA is developing the School of the Arts and MCYS the Sports School. These initiatives will cost $31 million this year.

Good, Affordable Healthcare

Many major health problems in Singapore today are lifestyle-related where the risk can be reduced through early efforts. The promotion of good health and a healthy lifestyle remains a key priority of the sector. Those who require healthcare will have access to good and affordable healthcare that is appropriate to needs.

• Promote good health. MOH will set aside $86 million for health education and promotion initiatives, including the National Healthy Lifestyle Programme, National Smoking Control Programme, Workplace Health Promotion Programme, School Health Programme and the National Cancer Screening Programme for Women. A more targeted and individualised approach will be adopted for at-risk groups, such as Youth Health Promotion for adolescents.
• Ensure that basic healthcare remains affordable for all Singaporeans. MOH will set aside $1.5 billion as subsidies for Singaporeans at public healthcare institutions (such as polyclinics and public hospitals) and institutions run by voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs; such as nursing homes and community hospitals). The Government will also top up Medifund by $200 million.

Strong Families

• Support family formation. MCYS will set aside $310 million for the Baby Bonus Scheme and Government Paid Maternity Leave Scheme to support and encourage married couples to have more children. Another $85 million will be allocated for childcare subsidies to give parents greater access to quality child and infant care centres.

A Caring and Inclusive Society

One of the key priorities of the sector, we need to build a caring and inclusive society by fostering a sense of community and engaging active citizens, engaging and supporting young Singaporeans, and helping vulnerable groups.

• Reinforce communal harmony. MCYS will allocate $297 million to promote racial harmony and social cohesion through the Community Development Councils and grassroots organisations.
• Nurture active citizens and building a strong community network. MCYS will set aside $24 million to promote volunteerism, support philanthropy and build a strong network of community and social services through community self-help groups, the National Council of Social Service and the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre.
• Engage citizens through the development of the museum and library sectors. To engage Singaporeans and foster a stronger sense of nationhood, MICA will allocate $69 million to the museum sector, to organise exhibitions and heritage outreach programmes. MICA will also allocate $156 million to enhance Singapore’s physical and digital libraries, to support life-long learning among Singaporeans and promote a knowledgeable and engaged society.
• Engage and support youth. MCYS will set aside $20 million to provide platforms for youths to organise and showcase their activities (such as *scape and a new skate park at East Coast Road). Part of the funds will also be used to partner VWOs in supporting at-risk and out-of-school youth.
• Assist the elderly and persons with disabilities. MCYS will set aside $36 million to assist the elderly and persons with disabilities through early intervention programmes, and support special needs children in mainstream schools, sheltered workshops and community-based and residential care programmes. MOE will set aside another $26 million to improve facilities for children with special needs and provide them with a supportive training and learning environment.
• Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) Scheme. Together with the proposed changes to the CPF system to help older low wage workers increase their employability and their take-home pay, MOM will set aside $400 million a year for the WIS Scheme as a permanent pillar of Singapore’s social security system. The WIS Scheme will encourage low wage workers to find and stay in work, while at the same time building up their CPF for retirement, housing and healthcare needs.

A World-Class Living Environment

A world-class living environment encompasses not just a clean and healthy environment and affordable quality public housing, but also the transformation of Singapore into a “City of Gardens and Water” and the development of our sports, arts and heritage sectors, to increase the range of leisure opportunities and lifestyle attractions for all residents.

• Ensure a clean and healthy environment and water resources. MEWR has allocated $468 million to manage water resources, to maintain a sustainable and affordable water supply for Singaporeans, and another $219 million to maintain a high standard of environmental public health.
• Provide affordable and quality public housing. MND has set aside $400 million for public housing subsidies to help Singaporeans own their own homes. In addition, MND will continue to rejuvenate older housing estates to ensure that they stay relevant to residents’ needs, through various estate renewal programmes like the Main Upgrading Programme (MUP), Interim Upgrading Programme (IUP), Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) and the Selective En-bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS). This is estimated to cost $950 million.
• Create a “City of Gardens and Water”. To meet the lifestyle and recreation needs of our population and enhance Singapore’s attractiveness as a destination for foreign businesses and talents, MND will invest $170 million towards the development of a “City in a Garden” environment, through the creation of more park connectors, enhancement of our streetscape and the development of the Gardens by the Bay. In addition, MEWR has allocated $14 million for the first year of the Active, Beautiful and Clean (ABC) Waters Programme to remake our waterways, reservoirs and parks into aesthetically pleasing, vibrant and exciting lifestyle attractions.
• Develop a sporting people. MCYS will set aside $69 million to promote regular sports participation among Singaporeans and develop new sports complexes. Another $29 million will be allocated for the promotion of sports excellence through structured training and support schemes for our national athletes and coaches, enhancing the operational capabilities of National Sports Associations, and providing up-to-date sports science and medicine services to our national athletes. The Sports Hub will be developed as a world-class venue for sports and entertainment events.
• Develop Singapore into a global arts city. MICA will budget $51 million to nurture and invigorate the arts sector, through major arts events such as the Singapore Arts Festival, Singapore Art Show and Singapore Writers’ Festival, 150 arts outreach programmes targeted at over 150,000 people, and support for over 500 local artists and arts groups.

GST Offset Package

• This year, the Government will put in place a comprehensive set of offset measures to help Singaporeans cope with the 2% GST increase. The package will cost $4 billion over 5 years. The key components of the package are: GST Credits; Senior Citizens’ Bonus; Post-Secondary Education Account top-ups; utilities, service and conservancy charges (S&CC) and rental rebates; property tax rebates; and additional grants for the Public Transport Fund, CCC ComCare Fund, VWOs and self-help groups. The Government will also provide additional subsidies for social assistance, increase the Singapore Allowance, and absorb the increased GST on S&CC and subsidized healthcare and education.