Grant to help families hire foreign domestic workers to care for elderly persons with disabilities

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Mr Saktiandi Supaat

MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC

Question No. 123

To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether the Ministry will review the grant to help families hire foreign domestic workers to care for elderly persons with disabilities; (b) how many households are currently receiving this grant; and (c) what is the Government’s annual expenditure on this grant since it was introduced in 2012.

Oral Answer

1        The Foreign Domestic Worker (FDW) Grant was introduced in 2012.  It provides a monthly grant of $120 to support households who need to hire FDWs to care for seniors and persons with moderate disabilities.  We do not have plans to increase the grant quantum at the moment, as the current grant quantum is generally adequate.

2        Besides the FDW Grant, these households are also eligible for FDW concessionary levy.  The concessionary levy was lowered from $120 to $60 per month from May 2015, compared to the normal levy of $265 per month.  Pioneers can get additional cash payouts to help with their expenses through the Pioneer Generation - Disability Assistance Scheme.

3        We also have other financial schemes to help defray the cost of caring for elderly with more severe disabilities.  Examples include the Interim Disability Assistance Programme for the Elderly (IDAPE) and the ElderShield, which is a disability insurance scheme.

4        As at December 2015, about 6,200 households are receiving the grant with the Government providing a total grant amount of $8.4M in 2015.  Since 2012, at least 10,400 households have benefited from this grant, with the Government grant totalling $20.6M.

5        We will continue to monitor the utilization and adequacy of the Foreign Domestic Worker Grant.