Edward Chia on Singapore’s COVID-19 response
Challenges faced by lower-income households during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially those living in one- and two-room flats, justify a rethink of Singapore’s minimum housing standards, said MP Edward Chia in Parliament on Tuesday (Mar 21). He said that given their space constraints, self-isolation was almost impossible for these households, thus increasing the risk of the virus spreading. This in turn led to greater financial insecurity as these individuals often did not have access to work-from-home alternatives and had less savings to tide them through a period of no work. Mr Chia also spoke about the Jobs Growth Incentive. He said he had received feedback from the business community about disbursement delays, with the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore citing manpower shortages as the reason rather than any issues with documentation provided for review. He urged the Government to work towards making the process more streamlined and efficient to save jobs, spur hiring and prevent cash flow problems for businesses.
Challenges faced by lower-income households during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially those living in one- and two-room flats, justify a rethink of Singapore’s minimum housing standards, said MP Edward Chia in Parliament on Tuesday (Mar 21). He said that given their space constraints, self-isolation was almost impossible for these households, thus increasing the risk of the virus spreading. This in turn led to greater financial insecurity as these individuals often did not have access to work-from-home alternatives and had less savings to tide them through a period of no work. Mr Chia also spoke about the Jobs Growth Incentive. He said he had received feedback from the business community about disbursement delays, with the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore citing manpower shortages as the reason rather than any issues with documentation provided for review. He urged the Government to work towards making the process more streamlined and efficient to save jobs, spur hiring and prevent cash flow problems for businesses.
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