One in three applications for Covid-19 Support Grant rejected

About a third of some 115,000 Singapore residents who applied for the Covid-19 Support Grant were rejected, said Social and Family Development Minister Masagos Zulkifli.

The grant, which gives up to $800 a month for three months, is aimed at helping Singaporeans and permanent residents who have lost their jobs or suffered a major drop in income during the ongoing pandemic.

In a written reply to a parliamentary question from Mr Louis Chua (Sengkang GRC), Mr Masagos yesterday said about 41,000 applicants were unsuccessful.

The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) approved the grant for about 65,000 people, and as at Aug 16, about 9,000 applications were still being processed.

Most of the applications were rejected because the applicants did not meet the eligibility requirements, such as being retrenched or having had their salary cut by at least 30 per cent for at least three consecutive months.

Others provided employment-related details that could not be verified, or they did not meet the household income criteria.

Mr Chua, a Workers' Party MP, had asked, among other things, for a breakdown of the number of people who were unsuccessful in obtaining the grant, and the number of applicants who were rejected but who received the grant after an appeal or when they applied again.

In his reply, Mr Masagos said the MSF, as at Aug 16, had received about 8,000 appeals for the grant, and about 7,500 were approved.

He said: "When considering these appeals, MSF would have taken into account any special circumstances that would warrant special consideration for individual cases."

Separately, Mr Masagos addressed a question from Mr Leon Perera (Aljunied GRC), who had asked for an update on an upcoming survey on the Vulnerable-In-Community Network, and if the findings of the survey would be made public.

The network, comprising a mix of government and community groups, was set up last November to befriend and extend help to vulnerable individuals, such as those who sell tissue paper on the move, and cardboard collectors.

In his written reply, Mr Masagos said the survey aims to better understand the needs of the people the network has connected with, so that it can provide more targeted support for them.

He said the ministry plans to conduct the survey towards the end of the year, and it is likely to take a few months to complete. MSF will release the aggregated survey result when it is ready, he added.

In another written reply to a parliamentary question from Mr Christopher de Souza (Holland-Bukit Timah GRC), Mr Masagos discussed the Special Needs Saving Scheme.

Mr de Souza had asked if MSF would allow parents with special needs children to specify who will get the remaining money in the scheme if a child with disabilities dies before the parents do.

The scheme enables parents to set aside Central Provident Fund (CPF) savings for the long-term care of children with special needs.

Parents can nominate these children to receive regular payouts after the parents die.

However, if the child dies before the parents, the CPF money meant for the child remains in the parents' CPF account. The parents, if they wish, can update their CPF nomination to specify how their CPF savings will be distributed when they die, Mr Masagos said.