Change to social services

May 29, 2009

PARLIAMENT

Change to social services

Vivian proposes new structure to put VWOs in charge of delivering assistance to those in need

By Sue-Ann Chia, Senior Political Correspondent

DR VIVIAN Balakrishnan wants to change the structure of social services to be more ground up, so that the people in charge 'are truly the voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs) on the ground'.

Making access to marriage records easier WITH divorce rates on the rise, the Government is studying ways to make marital history records more readily available. Currently, people have to pay $30 to do a search at the Registry of Marriages for such records, said Dr Vivian Balakrishnan. ... more

This will shift the 'centre of gravity' from the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) to the VWOs, the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports said in Parliament on Thursday.

To do this, he has asked the NCSS - the umbrella body of social services which sets the direction and provides funding for the sector - to learn from the labour movement. Its model is one where unions on the ground are independent with members voting for their leaders. But the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) acts as a central repository of resources and manpower, he said.

The NTUC, Dr Balakrishnan added, also has the economies of scale to train industrial relations officers and post them to individual unions. In adopting this approach, he gave the assurance that the NCSS would be there 'not to check on them, not to audit them'. It would instead serve as 'a central enabler, to achieve economy of scale, give promotional and training opportunities to the staff of the VWOs, and slowly in that way, enable us to upgrade the centres'.

He was speaking during the debate on the President's Address, which mapped out the Government's priorities for its remaining legislative term.

Several MPs who spoke during the debate raised concerns about government help schemes, with some saying that more can be done during this downturn. Others wondered if Singaporeans were becoming over-reliant on the Government - by turning to it for help in the first instance rather than as a last resort.

Ms Denise Phua (Jalan Besar GRC), a strong advocate for the interests of the disabled and the needy, cautioned against allowing this to take root.

She quoted the late United States president Dwight Eisenhower who said: 'A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.' But she noted that such an attitude could arise because the rules of engagement between Government and people are unclear; or if the rules are clear, they are not accepted.

But on Thursday, Dr Balakrishnan reiterated the principles which underpin Singapore's social safety net. One is to make sure that people have enough of a sense of security so that they will be willing and able to make the necessary adjustments to cope with change. Another principle is to ensure that 'no long-term harm comes about because of a short-term crisis'. That means focusing, in particular, on children's needs and education.

Personal and family responsibility are also vital, he said, even as he gave the assurance that the Government's 'many helping hands' approach would continue. He noted that in the area of social work, there were those who regarded VWOs as 'the outsourced agents' of his ministry. But this was the wrong model.

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