Eligibility of Heartland Merchants for CDC Vouchers Scheme

292. Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) whether the Government will publish current eligibility criteria for “heartland merchants” eligible to accept CDC vouchers; and (b) how many applications have been received from merchants to qualify as “heartland merchants” for 2024 to 2025; and (c) how many applications are accepted for the same period.

Response:

1. Mr Edwin Tong Chun Fai: Mr Speaker, I am answering in my capacity as the Minister charged with the responsibility for the People’s Association. The CDC Vouchers Scheme was first introduced in June 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic with two key objectives – (i) to help Singaporean households cope with the cost of living; and (ii) to support hawkers and heartland merchants.

2. In line with the policy intent, our aim is to onboard hawkers and merchants in HDB heartlands, such as those in the NEA-managed centres and HDB heartlands, including shops which offer daily goods or services.

3. However, there are instances where few or no heartland merchants are found within or near residential areas. In such locations, we have onboarded, on a case-by-case basis, small businesses that provide goods and services needed by residents.

4. Since October 2021, CDCs have been engaging hawkers and merchants in the heartlands and onboarding them onto the Scheme.  CDCs also work closely with associations like the Federation of Merchants' Association, Singapore and Heartland Enterprise Centre Singapore as well as various merchant and hawker associations, to reach out to the merchants and hawkers. 

5. To date, we have onboarded over 23,000 hawkers and heartland merchants on the CDC Voucher scheme, including those who successfully appealed, and will continue to work closely with the earlier mentioned key partners to onboard eligible merchants in the heartland.