THE Government's impending move to assess town councils should not be seen as a ranking exercise, says Senior Minister of State for National Development Grace Fu.

It should instead be viewed as a way to give HDB residents the facts that will help them engage better with their town councils on estate management issues, Ms Fu said yesterday after a Housing Board event.

For this reason, punishing town councils that perform badly in the assessment, like reducing government grants, is 'not envisaged at the moment', she added.

She stressed that 'the whole purpose of (the report) is to allow residents and town councils to have an objective set of numbers to talk about'.

It is why the Government is asking experts such as property consultants and academics for their input on the list of criteria for assessing the councils.

The Ministry of National Development, which oversees public housing, will roll out several consultation exercises in the next few months to ask people how they want town councils to be assessed.

The Government is suggesting three main areas: cleanliness of the estate, maintenance of facilities and financial management.

The final checklist, after taking into account public feedback, is to be ready by end-September and used to evaluate the performance of the councils.

The results will be released next year in the Town Council Management Report.

Ms Fu stressed that the proposed three areas of assessment are not cast in stone and that the Government is keen to hear from both town councils and residents.

Read the full story in Saturday's edition of The Straits Times.