Measures To Support Parents

MR DARREN Ong Soon Siong suggested that the Government consider introducing a Non-Working Spouse's Child Relief scheme to allow a working spouse to claim tax relief when the other spouse is not working, similar to the existing Working Mother's Child Relief scheme ("Give single-income families more tax relief"; Monday).

The Government has introduced a range of measures to support parents, regardless of whether they are working. These include the Baby Bonus Scheme, the Medisave grant for newborns and MediShield coverage for congenital and neonatal conditions.

Tax measures like the parenthood tax rebate and qualifying child relief also support both parents in raising their children. The Working Mother's Child Relief is provided as additional support for women who choose to remain in the workforce after having children.

There are other measures that support working fathers such as paternity leave, shared parental leave, extended childcare leave and infant care leave.

The Government also encourages employers to implement work-life strategies through schemes like the Work-Life Grant, which seeks to help employees balance their work and family commitments.

We thank Mr Ong for the opportunity to clarify the Government's financial support for parenthood.

Lim Bee Khim (Ms)
Director, Corporate Communications
Ministry of Finance