Support available for hawkers and consumers to cope with cost of living, other challenges
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Support measures include CDC vouchers, personal income tax rebates and targeted support for low-income households.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
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SINGAPORE – Numerous measures have been rolled out to cushion the impact of inflation on households, with some of them being enhanced several times, said Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Finance Shawn Huang.
These include CDC vouchers,
The Government set out these reassurances in Parliament on Nov 13 during a debate on a Progress Singapore Party motion that called for a review of the support for hawkers, so that Singaporeans can continue to enjoy good and affordable hawker food.
Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Koh Poh Koon also pointed to the various subsidies and grants in place to help hawkers cope with cost increases, as well as to incentivise them to raise productivity or go digital.
The Government is also continually monitoring the trends and needs of hawkers to improve the system and alleviate challenges, he added.
While acknowledging the rising business costs and labour challenges that hawkers face, several MPs who spoke during the debate also mentioned initiatives within their constituencies that help alleviate the cost pressures.
Here are some of the measures currently in place to support consumers and hawkers:
Support for consumers
The Monetary Authority of Singapore has
tightened its monetary policy many times,
which has meant a stronger Singapore dollar and lower inflation. Inflation now has fallen significantly from its peak, and hawker food inflation has fallen compared with the earlier part of this year, said Mr Huang.The Assurance Package has been
enhanced several times
since it was first introduced in 2022 to help Singaporeans cope with the rising cost of living. This includes CDC Vouchers doled out to Singaporean households every year since 2020. The number of participating hawkers in this scheme has also grown over time, he added.The existing permanent
GST Voucher scheme
supports lower- and middle-income Singaporeans and households with their daily living expenses, which include food. The GSTV-Cash component of the scheme was also increased in 2023, noted Mr Huang.A
personal income tax rebate of 50 per cent
of tax payable for the 2024 year of assessment was implemented, with a cap at $200. This will benefit mostly middle-income workers.Mr Huang reiterated that the Government is ready to do more to support Singaporeans if necessary as it continues to monitor global conditions closely. This includes reviewing and updating social support schemes to address the gaps for some households.
The Government is also working to ensure sustained real income growth for Singaporeans, which is a more sustainable way to manage price pressures, said Mr Huang. This would mean income would grow faster than inflation.
The Ministry of National Development and Housing Board rolled out a budget meal initiative in 2018. Since then, all new HDB rental coffee shops that are tendered out to operators
must provide budget meals and a budget drink.
These are meals priced affordably as compared with the average price of meals sold at nearby eating places.In 2023,
a BudgetMealGoWhere website
was also rolled out to help residents locate HDB coffee shops offering budget meals more easily and conveniently. Singapore is on track to have all 374 HDB rental coffee shops offer budget meals by 2026, said Senior Minister of State for National Development Sim Ann.Community Development Councils and grassroots organisations also have their own schemes.
Ms Yeo Wan Ling (Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC) noted that economy rice stall brand Rice Garden by FairPrice Group offers budget meals to ComCare and Chas card holders. Other MPs also pointed to budget meal initiatives in their own wards, such as a $1 meal deal programme in Zhenghua and Bukit Panjang.
Other areas also have similar cost-saving initiatives, such as discounts for those holding the blue Chas card, Pioneer or Merdeka generation cards or student cards. Ms Poh Li San (Sembawang GRC) highlighted the Belanja-a-Meal scheme in her constituency that allows low-income residents to enjoy 10 free meals monthly, thanks to contributions from other residents and donors.
There are also private-sector initiatives to alleviate costs, said Mr Liang Eng Hwa (Bukit Panjang). For example, DBS Bank has a
five million hawker meal scheme
that gives customers a rebate on their purchases, while there are various grocery support schemes for residents who need more help.
Support for hawkers
The CDC Voucher scheme has benefited not only consumers, but also hawkers. Mr Edward Chia (Holland-Bukit Timah GRC) said hawkerpreneurs at Senja Hawker Centre told him that the vouchers contribute to about 10 per cent of their revenue. They also said that the vouchers not only increase their sales, but also attract new customers to their stalls.
A joint tenancy scheme allows hawkers to work shorter hours and share rental costs with co-tenants.
From Jan 1, 2025, hawkers
will be able to hire from a larger pool of long-term visit pass holders
amid a manpower crunch. At present, only Singapore citizens and permanent residents can be stallholders or work as stall assistants in the 121 hawker centres and markets managed by the National Environment Agency and its operators. Stallholders’ spouses who are holders of long-term visit passes are also currently allowed to work as stall assistants. With the rule change, long-term visit pass holders need not be spouses to work as stall assistants. They could be parents or children, or be unrelated to the stallholder. These pass holders are given residency of up to two years on their first application.An
incubator stall programme
helps aspiring hawkers with pre-fitted equipment to lower start-up costs.The
Hawkers Succession Scheme
helps veteran hawkers, who want to retire but are unable to find successors, pass on their skills, recipes and tenanted stalls to aspiring hawkers.There is also a Hawkers’ Development Programme, which equips aspiring and current hawkers with the relevant skills and competency to operate the business.
There are also schemes available to help hawkers improve productivity, including one that provides tiered subsidies for centralised dishwashing, or a grant to buy kitchen automation equipment and digital solutions.
Hawkers from the Pioneer generation, who make up around 30 per cent of cooked food stallholders, receive extensive subsidies, said Dr Koh. Their rent is heavily subsidised at about $300 a month, and the stalls can be transferred to their immediate family members at the same low rent.
