Committee of Supply 2024 debate, Day 3: Rahayu Mahzam on increasing access to justice for more in the community

The Ministry of Law (MinLaw)  is revising the quantum of eligibility threshold for those applying for civil legal aid and criminal defence aid. Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Law Rahayu Mahzam said the Per Capita Household Income (PCHI) threshold and the Annual Value (AV) threshold for both schemes will go up by the second quarter of 2024. In Parliament on Friday (Mar 1), she said the PCHI thresholds will be increased for civil legal aid from S$950 to S$1,050, and for criminal defence aid from S$1,500 to S$1,650. The AV threshold for both types of aid will be increased from S$13,000 to S$21,000. Ms Rahayu added that MinLaw will continue to exercise flexibility for deserving cases. On building local capabilities on geospatial data, she said the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) will be launching a refreshed Singapore Geospatial Masterplan in March this year. Ms Rahayu added that SLA will be conducting the third national aerial mapping exercise in 3D this year. This supports strategic use cases, such as urban planning, national security, coastal protection and flood mitigation.