SINGAPORE - By the middle of next year, Singapore will have 24 social service offices (SSOs) up and running across the island, exceeding the first target of 20.

It was announced in July that the target had been revised to 23. On Tuesday, Minister for Social and Family Development Chan Chun Sing revealed that a 24th office would be set up in Sembawang.

"The current office at Woodlands straddles the work from Marsiling to Woodlands to Sembawang... (Setting up the Sembawang office) will help to spread the load," he said.

It will also help to cater to the needs of the area, as more families move into the Sembawang new town, he added.

Mr Chan was speaking to reporters at the official opening of the SSO at Queenstown, the 15th such office to be set up by his ministry. It is located within the Ministry of Education Heritage Centre, a five-minute walk from Commonwealth MRT station.

The SSOs, which are run by his ministry, will work with voluntary welfare organisations and community partners in their areas to better coordinate the social services they offer.

These offices, together with over 40 family service centres islandwide, will form a network within 2km of where 95 per cent of needy residents live or work.