SINGAPORE: Measures to better support families will be brought forward instead of waiting for the Marriage and Parenthood Reset Workgroup to complete its full report, after several areas of “clear consensus” on the challenges faced by families emerged from its engagements with Singaporeans.Speaking at a National Day dinner in her Pasir Ris-Changi ward on Saturday (Aug 15), Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah said the workgroup, which will release its full report in early 2027, has advanced a set of interim policy recommendations so that Singapore does not "lose time" addressing the important issue of falling birth rates.These include taking a fresh look at the cost of raising children, access to affordable infant care and childcare, as well as other support for families.Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will share more details at the upcoming National Day Rally on Aug 23, Ms Indranee said.
The Marriage and Parenthood Reset Workgroup was formed earlier this year to develop a roadmap to make marriage and parenthood more achievable, supported and valued in Singapore.Ms Indranee, who chairs the workgroup, said its members have spent the past few months speaking to Singaporeans about their hopes, aspirations and concerns surrounding marriage and parenthood.Asked why there was a need to advance the recommendations when the report is due in about six months, Ms Indranee said some issues were clearly on people’s minds and could already be addressed.“Rather than wait ... because it’s an important issue, (we) might as well deal with this early and upfront,” she told reporters on the sidelines of the event. "It's actually a huge review. We're leaving no stone unturned, and there are many other things that we have to look at."So we thought better to come up with these early, signal them early, and then after that we can focus on the other areas.
