Community Silver Trust

13 August 2012

Question No. 243

Name of person: Ms Mary Liew

Question 

To ask the Minister for Health (a) if he will provide an update on the Community Silver Trust (CST) particularly (i) how much has been disbursed to date; and (ii) how many voluntary welfare organisations in the intermediate and long-term care sector has received CST funds; and (b) how many elderly persons have benefited from the intermediate and long-term care services provided by these VWOs.

Answer

1.            The Community Silver Trust, or CST, was set up by the Government to provide a dollar-for-dollar matching grant to encourage donations into the intermediate and long-term care sector in Singapore.  The Trust is managed jointly by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS).

2.            We have disbursed $20.13 million to 27 Voluntary Welfare Organisations in the health and social services sectors for donations received in the first three quarters of FY2011.  This will enable them to build up their capabilities and programmes in intermediate and long-term care.  About 12,000 clients currently served by these VWOs stand to benefit from this additional funding. 

3             We have also received the applications for CST matching grant for donations received in the fourth quarter of FY11 and are processing them for disbursement in batches from September onwards.