Latest news with #GPCs
AsiaOne
11-07-2025
- Business
- AsiaOne
All 12 government parliamentary committees to get new chairpersons, 19 first-term PAP MPs included as members , Singapore News
Government parliamentary committees are set up by the People's Action Party (PAP) to scrutinise the legislation and programmes of the 16 ministries PUBLISHED ON July 11, 2025 1:35 AM By Sean Ler When the 15th Parliament opens on Sept 5, there will be new chairpersons for all 12 government parliamentary committees (GPC). Among the 12 chairpersons, three have prior experience heading a GPC. MP for Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC Tin Pei Ling, who heads the Transport GPC, was the chair for the Digital Development and Information GPC, while MP for Sembawang GRC Vikram Nair moves from chairing the Defence and Foreign Relations GPC to Home Affairs and Law. Both of them are fourth-term MPs. Saktiandi Supaat, a third-term MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, will move from Transport to chair the Finance and Trade and Industry GPC. Among the nine other GPC heads, three of them — Alex Yam, Daryl David, and Henry Kwek — are in their third term. Yam, another fourth-term MP and Mayor for Northwest Community Development Council, will head the Culture, Community and Youth GPC. He was formerly the deputy chair for the Digital Development and Information, and Defence and Foreign Relations GPCs. Henry Kwek and Daryl David, both serving third terms, will head the National Development and Education GPCs respectively. Daryl was the deputy chair for the same GPC in the 14th Parliament. The other six chairpersons are all MPs in their second term. Sembawang GRC MPs Mariam Jaafar and Poh Li San will head the Health and Sustainability and the Environment GPCs respectively, while MP for Pasir Ris-Changi GRC Sharael Taha will chair the Digital Development and Information GPC. Poh was formerly deputy chair in the same GPC. Meanwhile, the Manpower and Social and Family Development GPCs will be led by Punggol GRC MP Yeo Wan Ling and Jurong Central SMC MP Xie Yao Quan respectively. Completing the chairpersons line-up is Yio Chu Kang SMC MP Yip Hon Weng who will head the Defence and Foreign Affairs GPC. Of the 26 first-term PAP MPs, seven — Dinesh Vasu Dash, Goh Hanyan, Goh Pei Ming, Jasmin Lau, David Neo, Jeffrey Siow, and Syed Harun Alhabsyi — have either been, or will be appointed as political office holders. The remaining 19, including Lee Hong Chuang and Victor Lye who were fielded in opposition wards in the 2015 and 2020 General Election, have been included in the GPCs. The GPCs have between seven and nine members, with Education being the largest with nine members. Introduced in 1987, GPCs were set up by the ruling party to scrutinise the legislation and programmes of all 16 ministries. Some committees have a portfolio corresponding to more than one ministry. For example, the GPC on Finance and Trade and Industry covers both the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Trade and Industry. [[nid:719076]] editor@ parliamentMembers of Parliament This website is best viewed using the latest versions of web browsers.
CNA
10-07-2025
- Politics
- CNA
PAP names new heads for all government parliamentary committees; appoints 19 first-term MPs as members
SINGAPORE: The People's Action Party (PAP) on Thursday (Jul 10) announced new leaders for all 12 of its government parliamentary committees (GPCs), which scrutinise various ministries' legislation and programmes. Introduced by Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong in 1987, these backbench committees also serve as an additional channel of feedback on government policies. MP for Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC Alex Yam will chair the Culture, Community and Youth GPC, taking over from Mr Sitoh Yih Pin. Mr Sitoh stepped down ahead of the 2025 General Election after serving three terms. Mr Yip Hon Weng will chair the Defence and Foreign Affairs GPC, and Mr Darryl David will helm the Education GPC. Mr Saktiandi Supaat will move from Transport to head the Finance and Trade and Industry GPC, while Ms Yeo Wan Ling will chair Manpower. Mr Vikram Nair, previously the chairman for Defence and Foreign Affairs, will head Home Affairs and Law. Meanwhile, the National Development and Social and Family Development committees will be chaired by Mr Henry Kwek and Mr Xie Yao Quan respectively. The other appointments are Ms Mariam Jaafar, Sembawang GRC MP, who will take over the Health GPC from former Clementi MP Tan Wu Meng. Ms Poh Li San, MP for Sembawang West SMC, will head the Sustainability and the Environment GPC, succeeding Mr Louis Ng, former MP for Nee Soon GRC. Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC MP Tin Pei Ling will move from the Digital Development and Information GPC to chair the Transport GPC. The Digital Development and Information GPC will be headed by Mr Sharael Taha. Nineteen first-time MPs have also been appointed to the GPCs as members. They are: Charlene Chen Elysa Chen Gho Sze Kee Hazlina Abdul Halim Valerie Lee Lee Hong Chuang Cassandra Lee David Hoe Lee Hui Ying Hamid Razak Victor Lye Ng Shi Xuan Cai Yinzhou Gabriel Lam Jackson Lam Diana Pang Foo Cexiang Choo Pei Ling Shawn Loh The GPC appointments will take effect with the opening of the 15th Parliament on Sep 5.
Straits Times
10-07-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
PAP appoints new heads of backbench parliamentary committees
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox SINGAPORE – A fresh slate of 12 MPs will head the PAP's backbench committees that scrutinise government policy. The People's Action Party announced the makeup of its government parliamentary committees (GPCs) for the 15th term of Parliament on its website on July 10. None of the chairpersons from the previous term continued in their roles. In 2020, three did so. Mr Alex Yam will head the Culture, Community and Youth GPC while Mr Yip Hon Weng will chair the Defence and Foreign Affairs GPC. Mr Sharael Taha will be chair for Digital Development and Information while Mr Darryl David will chair Education. Mr Saktiandi Supaat, who was formerly the chair for Transport, will now head Finance and Trade and Industry, while also serving as deputy chair for Manpower. Ms Mariam Jaafar will chair Health while Ms Yeo Wan Ling will chair Manpower. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Business S'pore to launch new grant for companies, expand support for workers amid US tariff uncertainties Singapore HDB flats less attainable in 2024 compared with 2022: Report Asia Dr Mahathir at 100: Still haunted by the Malay Dilemma Sport No pain, no gain for Singapore's water polo teams at the world championships World 'Do some homework': 6 key exchanges between US Senator Duckworth and S'pore envoy nominee Sinha World Trump's ambassador nominee to Singapore Anjani Sinha has a rough day at Senate hearing Multimedia 60 objects to mark SG60: Which is your favourite? Business Fresh grads should 'stay calm' in job search, uptick in hiring seen: Tan See Leng Mr Vikram Nair moves from chair of Defence and Foreign Affairs to become its deputy, while taking on chair for Home Affairs and Law. Mr Henry Kwek takes the National Development portfolio while Mr Xie Yao Quan takes Social and Family Development. Ms Poh Li San, who was deputy chair for Sustainability and the Environment, will take on the role of chair. Ms Tin Pei Ling will chair Transport, relinquishing her role for Digital Development and Information. All but Mr Nair, Mr Saktiandi and Ms Tin had never led a GPC before. The 19 rookie MPs fresh from the May 3 poll who were not appointed to political office were put into GPCs. These committees, first set up in 1987, bring together PAP backbenchers to look at government policy and serve as an additional feedback channel. They are broadly mapped to the existing ministries of the day and generally serve through a whole parliamentary term. The 15th term of Parliament, comprising MPs elected at the May 3 polls, opens on Sept 5. The announcement follows changes to the PAP backbench triggered by the general election and subsequent Cabinet reshuffle. Six of the 12 GPC chairpersons from the previous term of Parliament either retired or will take on political office. GPC chair for Culture Community and Youth Mr Sitoh Yih Pin and his counterpart for Health Dr Tan Wu Meng retired from politics. Ms Cheryl Chan, who headed the GPC for National Development and Mr Louis Ng, who did so for Sustainability and the Environment, also did not stand for election. Two will leave the backbench. Mr Desmond Choo, who chaired the GPC for Manpower, was promoted to Minister of State for Defence. Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim, who chaired the GPC for Home Affairs and Law will become Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Social and Family Development. He was also a member of the GPC for Defence and Foreign Affairs.
The Independent
18-03-2025
- Business
- The Independent
What Labour's crackdown on government credit cards reveals about its approach to public spending
The dour Scotsman holding the title of chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Cabinet Office minister, Pat McFadden, doesn't seem much of a space cowboy but he has in common with Elon Musk an apparent zeal to eliminate waste. Being more sensible and considerably less excitable than his (rough) US counterpart, McFadden has not yet egregiously breached the British constitution but he has summarily abolished almost all of the civil service 'credit cards', a distinctly Doge-like action. It's more than just a symbolic move… What's the problem? The immediate one is the sometimes seemingly wanton use of some 20,000 government procurement cards (GPCs) that enable officials to order relatively trivial items – ie not new aircraft carriers or reservoirs – without too much onerous invoicing and other paperwork in the digital age. Typically this means paying for ad hoc official hospitality, travel and office equipment. However, Labour in opposition discovered some expenditure that seemed questionable. This included: A £4,445 dinner in New York for the then prime minister, Boris Johnson, for himself and 24 of his staff About £1,500 on lunch and dinner for Liz Truss, as foreign secretary, in two upmarket restaurants in Jakarta Rishi Sunak, when chancellor, spending £3,000 on 13 photographs to brighten up the Treasury Buying DJ equipment, which raises the possibility that the karaoke kit that featured in the Partygate horror was paid for by the taxpayer Total spending on GPCs has quadrupled in the last few years to a non-trivial total of £600m. What's the answer? An immediate Muskian freeze on GPCs, a reduction in the item limit for hospitality from £2,500 to £500, and any spend more than £500 requiring director general (top civil servant) approval. Civil servants will also be banned from using cards where there is either a departmental or cross-government procurement route. McFadden would like to radically reduce the number of GPCs in circulation. Is McFadden 'the British Musk'? Joking apart, he and his colleagues in the Cabinet Office and Treasury are pursuing waste, inefficiency, and ineffectiveness across the British state, the most high-profile examples being the abolition of NHS England; the current review of social security long-term sickness and disability benefits; Yvette Cooper's attempts to get spending on migrant hotels down; and Angela Rayner's drive to reorganise local government. Regulators are being told to prioritise growth, and the government wants to rationalise agencies and quangos. The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has actually created a new quango, the Office for Value for Money, to reassure the public about things, though the parliamentary public accounts committee has expressed scepticism about its role. The cuts in overseas aid are the nearest functional parallel to Doge, though, to be fair, British ministers don't argue that such transfers are corrupt and wasteful. Why does it matter? In the great scheme of things, this is 'sweating the small stuff' and doesn't make much difference to the big picture in a public spending total exceeding £1 trillion a year. However, McFadden and his colleagues recognise, if not fear, the damage that lurid stories about abuse do to the reputation of the state and trust in government. Tony Blair always used to say that the public didn't mind paying more in tax for public services provided they could be sure it wasn't being wasted, and, as they couldn't have such confidence, were therefore reluctant. The public's dismay at the £3bn a year that's been spent on migrant hotels is a prime example of how things can go wrong. Is Labour now the party of prudence? Funnily enough, the GPCs were introduced by the New Labour government in 1997, to reduce administrative costs, but things appear to have got out of control in the Conservative years. There will always be waste and inefficiency, even in the most cash-starved of organisations in the public or private sectors; but at least McFadden, Keir Starmer and Reeves seem to be genuinely appalled by it. Maybe one day they too will drift into the kind of bad habits parties develop after a prolonged time in power.
Sky News
18-03-2025
- Business
- Sky News
Mass crackdown launched on government credit cards as some expenses 'not justified'
Why you can trust Sky News Thousands of government credit cards are being cancelled because some of the expenditure is "not justified", a cabinet minister has said. Appearing on Sky News' Breakfast with Wilfred Frost, Pat McFadden was asked if the crackdown on government procurement cards (GPCs) was because civil servants are "fiddling their expenses". He said he would "not use that phrase", but added: "I don't think some of the lines of expenditure I've seen are justified." "This is public money - I think people need to take care with it," he said. "So the process now will be, if people want to have one of these cards, they're going to have to justify why they need it and reapply for it." It was announced last night that thousands of GPCs will be cancelled as part of a crackdown on wasteful spending in government. Under the plan, departments and their agencies have been instructed to freeze almost all the 20,000 cards in circulation in a bid to cut the number in use by at least 50%. Civil service cardholders will be forced to reapply and justify that they really need them. If they don't, their cards will be cancelled by the end of the month. Only a minority of cards will be exempt from the mass freeze, such as those used by diplomatic staff working in conflict zones. Rules to be tightened up Mr McFadden said the number of cards and the expenditure "has grown enormously", quadrupling "in the last four or five years". Figures show spending on the cards in the last financial year reached over £600m in central departments and core agencies - compared to £1.5m in 2020/2021. In some situations, such as Foreign Office staff in hostile environments, the cards are justified as "it's the most convenient way to account for small amounts of expenditure", Mr McFadden said. The limit on expenditure on the cards, which is currently £2,500, will come down to £500 - with anything above this requiring the approval of a senior civil servant, he added. The crackdown on GPCs is part of a wider drive to cut spending and waste across government, as the chancellor seeks to plug a gap in the public finances in next week's spring statement. 1:27 More cuts to come Rachel Reeves has lost £9.9bn of fiscal headroom (the amount she could increase spending or cut taxes without breaking her fiscal rules) since the October budget due to a poor economy and geopolitical events. Last week, it was announced NHS England will be abolished because there is too much duplication with the work the Department of Health and Social Care is doing. Health Secretary Wes Streeting has since indicated he will look to scrap other health-related bodies, while integrated care boards have been asked to cut their budget by half.
