Upcoming supplementary Budget to include support for social service sector

THE supplementary Budget on Tuesday will include support for the social service sector, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said in a Facebook post on Sunday.

Ahead of Tuesday's ministerial statement on further support amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Mr Heng had on Saturday heard from 30 social service sector partners, along with Minister for Social and Family Development Desmond Lee, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu, and Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Finance and Education Indranee Rajah.

The sector representatives had shared about the challenges that they and their clients are facing, with a discussion on how social service agencies can strengthen collaboration and capability building; the potential and constraints of going digital; and difficulties with fund raising during this period.

Mr Heng said he would look at how to better support the social service sector as part of the upcoming Budget, adding: "We will also work with the sector to embrace digitalisation, accelerate transformation and scale up new capabilities."

Tuesday's ministerial statement will present a fourth package of Covid-19 support, focusing on workers and companies that cannot resume activities immediately after the end of the circuit breaker period on June 1. This could mean a further draw on the reserves, with President Halimah Yacob having previously assented to some S$21 billion being drawn from past reserves to help fund Covid-19 support measures announced in March and April.