ComCare: $130m (no increase) in economic downturn, rising unemployment?


Why is it that ComCare assistance remained the same, at $130 million in an economic downturn, with rising unemployment and hardly any jobs growth for Singaporeans? 

I refer to the article “Helping to tide them over a difficult phase” (Straits Times, Dec 10).

It states that “In the Ministry of Social and Family Development’s (MSF’s) last financial year, which ended in March, figures show 28,409 households were on the same scheme, down 4 per cent from the 29,511 households the year before.

In its last financial year, the MSF gave out $130 million in ComCare help schemes to about 83,000 beneficiaries. The sum given out has increased from $106 million in FY 2012.

If you total the number of households in the three categories – the total number of households is 40,738 (28,409 + 7,942 + 4,387).

This is 1.190 unique households or three per cent more than the 39,548 unique households according to the ComCare annual report for FY2015 which said that they received $130.2 million of financial assistance from ComCare.

So, the amount of assistance remained the same at $130 million, despite the increase in the number of households helped?

Since the year ended March this year was a period of one of our worse economic downturns, with rising unemployment and hardly any jobs growth that actually went to Singaporeans – why has the amount of ComCare assistance remained the same at $130 million?

Leong Sze Hian

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