To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a) in each of the last three years, how many applications has the Ministry received for the ComCare Child Care subsidy; (b) how many of these applications have been approved; (c) what is the demographic profile of the successful and rejected applicants respectively and (d) what are the common reasons for rejection.
Answer
1. Low-income families can apply for ComCare child care subsidies if they are unable to afford child care fees after receiving the Basic and Additional Subsidies provided by the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA). From 2016 to 2018, there were applications for an average of 4,440 children yearly for ComCare child care subsidies, of which 86% were approved on average.
2. MSF does not track the demographic profile of these applicants or the reasons for all rejected applications. Some applicants did not qualify for the assistance because their household income exceeded the income criteria, or because they had not yet applied for Basic and Additional subsidies before applying for ComCare child care subsidies.