Singapore’s Social Safety Net and Social Service Sector

Sir, let me first thank the MCYS Minister and his team for the strong support of the latest Enabling Masterplan for the Disabled. I seek a status update on how the team might track and report on the plan’s progress in the future. Next, the need for a Masterplan. The Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports has allocated a budget of $2.1 billion; small compared to MINDEF’s budget of $12 billion. I believe that MCYS is in fact the best defence for Singapore with its mission to build a cohesive and resilient society. However, in budgetary terms, many of us are not certain if Singapore’s cohesion and resilience reflects a position of break even, surplus or deficit.

Sir, I urge the Ministry to take reference from the recently completed Enabling Master Plan for the Disabled, which it facilitated. For that plan, the committee revisited the vision for the disabled; identified critical success factors; identified the gaps for key focus areas; and engaged other Government Ministries and key stakeholders to implement the plan.

I urge MCYS to discover, for Singapore society cohesion and resilience, what the "state of the union" is, and engage other Ministries and key stakeholder groups to formulate a Master Plan to Build a Cohesive and Resilient Singapore Society. It should then develop a Responsibility Matrix so that everyone, including the rest of Singapore, can co-own and share in this construction effort.

Next, on strengthening the social safety net. Sir, with this year’s budgetary increase in social spending, our social safety net is cast wider but is it stronger? Much will depend on how well the gap between planning and execution is monitored and closed. I wish to highlight just three gaps which I urge MCYS to address. First, many helping hands. The strengthening of the "Many Helping Hands" model to more effectively help those in need was highlighted by Minister of State Mdm Halimah Yacob herself when she was a backbencher. We are all aware that some people get multiple or overlapping help; some are under-served and yet there are those who fall through the social safety net.

We often speak of the need to be client-centric but the many helping hands such as the Community Development Council (CDC), the Family Service Centre, the grassroots, MPS volunteers, and other helping hands do not seem to be very much to confirm the strategies and division of duties to help, especially the families with chronic need. There is a strong need for a systems integrator approach to manage help more effectively. Strengthening the many helping hands and funding the use of tools such as case-management templates, social eco-maps and residents’ databases must be a priority, and I urge MCYS to look into it.

Next, on a more rigorous search for leadership talents and partners. Sir, the author of "Good to Great", Jim Collins, highlighted the need to get the "right people on the bus" for any organisation to be great. The social service sector is no different. More than money, the sector needs more proven, available innovative leadership talents. The appeal of taking the path of least resistance – getting safe and familiar partners who ironically could have contributed to some current poor outcomes for the clients – should be resisted. I urge MCYS to embark on a more robust, rigorous and systematic search for the right leadership talents and VWO partners to help fulfil its mission.

Lastly, on innovation. Sir, the social service sector has often been given a badge of compassion. We need to complement this with the badge of innovation to see even better outcomes. One example is the recent campaign to recruit social workers to staff the many new future-proof Family Service Centres which are the bedrock of the Ministry’s social service delivery system. I watched with dismay the same strategies of advertising and paying more to hire more. This is the same strategy that is adopted by other Ministries in their race to compete for staff. Sir, MCYS should help cultivate a more innovate culture in the social service sector. In addition, I suggest MCYS set up an attractive Productivity and Innovation Scheme to support organisations and individuals who can contribute ideas and execute service models that are scalable and effective.