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SINGAPORE: A one-time S $ 3,000 grant, originally offered to parents of babies born between October 1 of this year and September 30, 2022, will be extended to parents whose babies were born before October, but who had a Estimated certified delivery date on or after October 1.
The Prime Minister’s Office Minister Indranee Rajah announced this in Parliament on Thursday (October 15). He said that the authorities had decided to agree to the appeals of this specific group of parents, after having received “feedback, appeals and even requests” to change the starting date from October 1 to a previous one, after the introduction of the Scholarship. Baby Support.
The grant is intended to provide additional support to help couples “defray the costs of raising children during these extraordinary times,” the National Population and Talent Division (NPTD) had said when it announced the initiative last week.
“I fully understand that parents who were not eligible for the Baby Support Grant are disappointed, especially as this has been a challenging year for everyone,” said Ms. Indranee, who oversees the NPTD.
“I acknowledge your concerns and I think it would be helpful for me to share more about our considerations when designing this scheme.”
READ: COVID-19: One-time S $ 3,000 Grant for Parents of Children Born in the Next 2 Years
Citing a survey conducted by the NPTD and the Ministry of Social and Family Development in June, Ms Indranee noted that three out of 10 Singaporean couples surveyed said they planned to delay having a child due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The pandemic has affected our lives and livelihoods in significant ways. Therefore, employment and financial stability have become an even more important consideration for many couples, causing them to rethink whether they should have a child in the next one or two years, “he said.
Preliminary data showed that there were about 200 fewer Singaporean babies born between January and August this year compared to the same period last year, he said.
However, he noted that this “slight drop” in the number of births may not have been attributed to the pandemic, as these children were conceived before there were COVID-19 cases in Singapore.
The baby support grant was designed to increase the existing baby bonus cash gift and provide additional support to parents who want to have a child so that they do not put off their parenting plans, said Ms Indranee, who also is Second Minister of Finance and National. Developing.
Several start dates were considered when the scheme was designed, including January 1 next year as part of the budget for 2021, he noted.
“However, we felt it was important to get support as quickly as possible to help more Singaporeans with their parenting aspirations. Announcing plans for next year could mean that parents may delay attempts to have a child, ”she said.
“While the government’s fiscal situation is difficult, due to the support provided to Singaporeans and businesses throughout the year, we were able to set aside some budget this year, to further support more Singaporean parents starting as soon as we can.” Mrs. Indranee.
As such, the decision was made to make the grant effective starting in October, the month it was announced, he said.
The minister said she understood that parents of infants who are not eligible for the grant would be disappointed, given the challenges in caring for newborns this year, especially during the “circuit break” period, but added that it was they would require specific start dates for any measure.
“Regardless of the effective start date, there will always be some babies born earlier. The calls we have received to change the start date of the Infant Support Scholarship come with a wide range of suggestions for the start date, ”he said.
These ranged from January 1 through April, when the Circuit Breaker began, to a suggestion that the grant be extended to all children under the age of seven, he said.
“Each group has reasons for the proposed dates, and looking at it from their perspective, they are all valid. But we can only choose one date, and whatever date we choose, there will be groups that are not covered,” he said.
“We chose October as the start date for the reasons mentioned above, and we seek your understanding why we are keeping this date.”
Ms Indranee noted that substantial government support is now available to parents of children born before October 1 this year, with parents eligible for cash and “cash-like support” ranging from S $ 18,000 per the first child and S $ 32,000 for the fifth and subsequent children. , even without the Baby Support Grant.
Baby and child care subsidies have also been improved, and families can now receive up to S $ 1,310 in baby care subsidies or up to S $ 767 in child care subsidies each month, he noted.
“We understand the difficulties families, especially those with infants and young children, face during this period, and we have implemented measures like the ones I described earlier this year,” said Ms Indranee.
“We will continue to support families during these extraordinary times, and I seek the understanding of Singaporean members and partners on the start date of the Infant Support Scholarship, which is one of those additional measures,” he said.
The Government “will continue to review and improve the robust set of measures that are already in place to help Singaporeans start and grow families,” he added.
