SINGAPORE — From April, lower- and middle-income families will be getting more subsidies aimed at making child and infant care services more affordable. Up to two-thirds of Singaporean households, or families with a gross monthly income of S$7,500 and below, will receive more support in the form of an additional subsidy. Under the new framework, eligible families with children in full day child care, will receive between S$100 and S$440 in additional subsidy, while those enrolled in full day infant care will get between S$200 and S$540 in additional subsidy. The Additional Subsidy replaces the Centre-Based Financial Assistance Scheme for Child Care, which provides child care related financial assistance for families earning S$3,500 and below. It will be given on top of the current Basic Subsidy, where all parents receive S$300 subsidy for full day child care programmes and S$600 for full day infant care programmes. “With this initiative, up to two-thirds of households can now benefit from higher subsidies on top of the Basic Subsidy,” said the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) today in a statement. For lower-income families requiring more help, the Government will continue to provide other forms of assistances, such as a one-time start-up grant of up to S$1,000 per child to help with the initial cost of placing a child in a centre, said the MSF. Details of the new subsidy framework were announced by Acting Minister for Social and Family Development Chan Chun Sing today. It complements other measures to defray the costs of child-raising under the Marriage and Parenthood Package announced on Monday. The new framework will increase the Government’s investment in child and infant care by S$105 million, said the MSF. This brings the total budget for Government spending in this area to about S$360 million for the financial year 2013. Separately, the Government will also expand the number of good quality, affordable child care and infant care places for lower and middle income families, announced the MSF. The Anchor Operator Scheme will be extended to more operators, and receive “enhanced levels of support”. More details will be released by the second quarter of this year. “These enhancements are part of the Government’s efforts to improve the accessibility, quality and affordability of early childhood development programmes,” said the MSF. The Implementation Committee on Enhancing Pre-school Education is reviewing measures to improve the pre-school sector, and will announce the details when ready.