The government will provide more support to young families with urgent housing needs under the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (PPHS) as they await the completion of their Build-To-Order (BTO) flats, DPM Lawrence Wong announced today in his budget speech. (February 16).
Eligible families will receive a one-year PPHS voucher to rent a Housing Development Board (HDB) flat on the open market, but the dollar amount of the voucher has not been disclosed.
Currently, HDB offers subsidized rental properties under the PPHS, with the statutory board receiving many applications for the scheme.
While HDB is ramping up supply to meet demand, DPM Wong said the government wants to do more to support young families with their urgent housing needs in the meantime.
The government is rolling out support measures to make kindergartens more affordable
As the government aims to “build a Singapore made for families”, parents can look forward to more help with preschool.
First, the government wants to reduce the cost of full-day preschool care for dual-income families, making it comparable to primary school and after-school care.
This includes the reduction in monthly childcare ceilings in government-aided preschools by 2025. The caps will be reduced to S$640 for anchor operator preschools and S$680 for partner preschools, down from S$680 and S$680 respectively. S$720 per month.
These ceilings will be further reduced in 2026.
To support lower-income families with young children living in public rental flats, the government has also designed new ComLink+ Progress packages.
These families will receive financial assistance as they make progress on long-term goals such as early childhood education, sustainable employment, financial stability, and saving for home ownership.
For example, a family will receive additions to a child’s Child Development Assistance account if they ensure the child attends preschool and attends preschool regularly under the ComLink+ Progress package for preschool.
Under the employment package, adults can receive benefits of up to S$600 every quarter if they secure a job and continue to work.
Those who make voluntary contributions to their Central Provident Fund (CPF) will also receive matching government grants to boost their savings for home ownership.
The ComLink+ Progress Packages will be tested for three years before their effectiveness is assessed.
To provide further assistance to lower-income families, the government will strengthen existing early childhood education subsidies for lower-income families.
The higher subsidies currently given to children of working mothers will be extended to all children from lower-income families, including children with mothers who do not work.
These initiatives will benefit up to 17,000 children.
Featured image credits: iStock
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