The Government has been responsive in rolling out multiple support schemes for affected individuals throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, the success of these schemes depends on the execution of the programmes (Hawkers who had to close stalls ask for easier grant access, Aug 4).

I assisted my mother and her co-workers to apply for the Covid-19 Recovery Grant - Temporary when their school canteen stall was affected by home-based learning in May.

As my mother and her co-workers live in different parts of Singapore, three different Social Service Offices (SSOs) handled their grant applications. The execution of the grant differed greatly across these three offices. For example, each SSO used different forms when asking the applicants to declare their household income, employment situation and prior economic activity.

The common experience, however, was that all three applications were initially rejected. After multiple appeals (some through an MP), we made some headway: My mother's and one of her co-worker's applications were approved.

The other application is still pending, with the SSO asking us to resubmit a new application for the third time as at the end of last month.

While it is good for each SSO to have some autonomy, national help schemes must be administered consistently based on criteria set out by the ministry.

It is imperative that government programmes have effective last-mile service delivery.

Muhammad Rasyid Abdullah