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Lift accidents among key issues when Parliament sits on Monday

SINGAPORE — With a spate of high-profile lift accidents dominating headlines in recent months, the issue will take centre stage when Parliament sits on Monday.

Singapore's Parliament building.

Singapore's Parliament building.

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SINGAPORE — With a spate of high-profile lift accidents dominating headlines in recent months, the issue will take centre stage when Parliament sits on Monday.

Seven members of the House have tabled questions on the issue, ranging from the recourse for residents when there are repeated breakdowns, whether the slew of malfunctions could have been prevented, and if there should be a new lift upgrading programme to help town councils replace older lifts that break down frequently.

Opposition Member of Parliament Pritam Singh also asked Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong about the additional costs town councils are expected to incur with the recently announced stricter standards on lift maintenance.

He wanted to know if there will be specific lift-maintenance grants given to town councils or if there can be a subsidy or co-payment scheme for HDB lift parts that become obsolete prematurely.

Several MPs also asked about the Community Health Assist Scheme (Chas), including figures on complaints, in the wake of the first suspension meted out to a clinic for filing claims that did not comply with rules and guidelines.

Chas subsidises the cost of seeking care at participating general practitioner and dental clinics for low-income households.

Questions have also been tabled on the Government’s recent decision to delink public servants’ computers from the Internet, as well as on the impact of Brexit on Singapore’s economy.

During Monday’s sitting, six Bills are slated to be introduced, chief of which is the Administration of Justice (Protection) Bill under the Ministry of Law. The others are more administrative in nature, such as relating to the announcement at the start of the year to merge the infocomm and media authorities and set up a new statutory board to lead digital transformation efforts in the public sector.

Meanwhile, the newest member of the House, Mr Murali Pillai of Bukit Batok SMC, has raised a motion on “addressing challenges faced by caregivers of children with special needs”.

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