Government assistance weighted towards those in greater need

政府援助侧重于更有需要的人

谨答复《联合早报·交流站》于8月13日刊登的沈亚美读者投函 《应详细调查哪些公民可获得援助》：

我们感谢沈女士在报章的投函。

我们的总体目标，是确保更需要社会支援的家庭能得到政府的更 多援助。在收到类似沈女士的反馈后，我们对不同的计划采用了不同 的资格标准。衡量家庭收入和财产虽没有完美的标准，但我们会逐步 调整和检讨每项计划的标准，以确保它们依然能达到目标。

例如，消费税补助券（GST Voucher）计划采用2万1000元房地产 年值顶限作为资格标准，它涵盖了所有组屋、相当数量的公寓和一些 价值较低的有地房地产。除了房地产年值，我们还把收入和拥有的房 产数量考虑在内。

我们要澄清的是，今年所有21岁及以上国人，不论住房类型，都 可获得“关怀与援助配套”（Care and Support Package）发放的现 金入息。因此，房地产年值不是这项计划的资格标准。

其他近期的计划如“同舟共济”水电费补贴，则发放给所有本地 家庭，以在这一困难时期尽可能给更多国人提供额外帮助。

作为政府社会安全网的组成部分，社区关怀计划（ComCare）帮 助低收入家庭支付基本生活费用，而社会服务中心（Social Service Office）会全面地评估他们的需要。如果家庭情况有变，他们可以向 最靠近他们的社会服务中心（www.msf.gov.sg/ssolocator）或家庭 服务中心（www.msf.gov.sg/fsclocator）求助，或拨社区关怀热线 1800-222-0000。

财政部社会计划司司长汪意娴
社会及家庭发展部社区关怀与社会支援司司长江金碧

Government assistance weighted towards those in greater need

We thank Ms Shen Yamei for her letter (“Citizens should be looked into carefully to determine if they require assistance”, 13 Aug 2020).

Our overall aim is to ensure that more government assistance is given to families in greater need of social support. Having received feedback similar to Ms Shen’s, we use a varied range of eligibility criteria for different schemes.  There is no perfect measure for family income and wealth, but we seek to fine-tune and review criteria for each scheme over time to ensure they continue to meet the objectives.

For example, the GST Voucher scheme uses a property annual value threshold of $21,000, which covers all HDB flats, a good number of condominiums, and lower-value landed properties. In addition to the annual value, we consider the income and number of properties owned.

We wish to clarify that the Cash and Support cash payout is given to all Singaporeans aged 21 and above this year, regardless of housing type. AV is therefore not a criterion for this scheme. 

Other recent schemes such as the Solidarity Utilities Credit were given to all Singaporean households to extend additional help to as many citizens as possible during this challenging period.

As part of the Government’s social safety net, ComCare assistance assists low-income households with their basic living expenses, and Social Service Offices assess their needs holistically. If a family’s circumstances have changed, they can approach their nearest SSO (www.msf.gov.sg/ssolocator) or Family Service Centre  (www.msf.gov.sg/fsclocator), or call the ComCare Call hotline at 1800-222-0000.

Ms Sharon Ang
Director, Social Programmes
Ministry of Finance

Ms Kong Kum Peck
Director, ComCare and Social Support Division
Ministry of Social and Family Development