National Council of Social Service (Amendment) Bill - Cai Yinzhou

Reposted from Source: MDDI Singapore (13 January 2026 - 3:12 PM)

Source: MDDI Singapore

Full Transcript

Mr Cai Yinzhou (Bishan-Toa Payoh): Thank you Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker I would like to declare my interest in NCSS, having been a past beneficiary of the NCSS 40-Under-40 Youth Leadership Development Programme. 

I rise in support of the NCSS (Amendment) Bill. Recognising the importance of SSAs in providing support to Singaporeans and Singapore. This Bill codifies the role of NCSS as a sector developer and strengthens the delivery of social services to underserved groups in Singapore. Nevertheless, I would like to raise a few key areas for clarification, particularly on maintaining sector representation on the Council’s Board and furthering support for social enterprises.

My first clarification relates to ensuring sector representation on the Board of the Council. The social service landscape in Singapore is highly diverse with NCSS representing over 500 SSAs that support a variety of causes such as eldercare, persons with disabilities, youths at risk, lower-income families and mental health needs.  

The public consultation on these amendments, conducted by MSF and NCSS indicated that ensuring sector representation on the Board is a priority. I commend the Ministry for taking this feedback into account and increasing the proposed Board size to 15-27 members and ensuring that half of the Board will be appointed by the Minister from sector members’ nominations.  

To help the social service sector and public better understand how these new processes will be put into place, I would like to clarify the criteria for appointment to the Board. What specific criteria will be used to select Board members and what mechanisms will be put in place to ensure a diverse and representative demographic of organisations and members on the Board?

The ethos of the NCSS to unite communities for an inclusive and caring society is important. We should encourage not only a diversity of sectors represented on the Board, but also diversity of individuals of different genders, age groups, ethnic backgrounds, experience and skillsets. I strongly believe that doing so would support NCSS in its work and facilitate the balanced and holistic development of the social service sector. 

My second clarification relates to the relationship between NCSS and social enterprises. Membership in NCSS is a valuable platform for the sector for networking, cross-learning and community-building opportunities. One of the amendments proposed in the Bill is to streamline the membership of NCSS, such that a member must either "have the primary function of providing a social service in Singapore", or "have the primary function of directly supporting the provision of a social service in Singapore". I note that, currently, some NCSS members have registered separate social enterprises as separate entities. In general, the operations of most social enterprises are closely intertwined with the social service sector. 

The social enterprise sector strengthens social service delivery in Singapore. As the saying goes, "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; but teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." Social enterprises adopt diverse business models to better align with the complex needs of different stakeholders. For instance, many provide underemployed communities with critical employment and training opportunities, such as the Social Kitchen which employs disadvantaged individuals and their caregivers; or Foreword Coffee which hires workers with special needs. Operating social enterprise models allows them to reinvest their profits in their social missions. This provides a more sustainable income stream for the organisation, reduces reliance on donations and provides employment for beneficiaries and expands the capacity of their social programmes. 

I note that many social enterprises might be members of raiSE Singapore, which is a cross-sector collaboration between MSF, NCSS and others. In line with the vision of expanding NCSS' role as sector developer, I would like to ask whether social enterprises will be eligible to register as members under NCSS or, if not, how NCSS plans to provide greater support for our social enterprises. Such support could take the form of linking social enterprises with investors, connecting social enterprises with individuals in need of employment more effectively and centrally.

Additionally, could the Ministry clarify the distinction between NCSS and raiSE, in terms of the functions they will play in supporting social enterprises? Social enterprises would also benefit, knowing whether they can seek support and membership with NCSS in addition to with raiSE. Notwithstanding these clarifications, I support the Bill for its decisive update to NCSS and the strengthening of the social service sector in Singapore. 

Mr Masagos Zulkifli B M M (Minister for Social and Family Development) (Excerpt): Ms Lee Hui Ying, Mr Cai Yinzhou, Mr Melvin Yong and Mr David Hoe asked for clarifications on sector membership. On whom will qualify, an organisation must have the primary function of providing or directly supporting the provision of a social service in Singapore. NCSS will look at each application and assess the organisation's objectives and activities against these criteria.

Today, there are about 400 Full Council Members and close to 100 Associate Council Members. With the changes, all Full Council Members will be transitioned to become sector members. So, about 400 of them, since the criteria for Full Council membership align with those of sector membership.

Associate Council membership will be ceased. Current Associate Council members who meet the criteria are welcome to apply for sector membership. 

But there may be some organisations, such as those whose primary functions do not relate to social services within Singapore, which would not qualify for sector membership. Such organisations are a subset of all Associate Council Members, and joined NCSS at a time when the membership criteria was much broader. NCSS will ease this transition, including honouring any existing support until its expiry.

On social enterprises, the Singapore Centre for Social Enterprise (raiSE), established by MSF, serves as the dedicated membership body to provide them tailored support and resources. Moving forward, if a social enterprise also wishes to be an NCSS sector member, its application will be assessed, in consultation with raiSE, on a case-by-case basis, depending on its objectives and activities.  

Nevertheless, as a sector developer, NCSS will work with partners in the ecosystem regardless of their sector membership status to find solutions to our social challenges. Indeed, over the years, NCSS has been working closely with raiSE – itself a current NCSS member organisation – to build stronger enterprise capabilities in the sector for financial sustainability and partnerships between SSAs and social enterprises to better serve users.

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