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SINGAPORE: Parliament will begin debating the Budget 2026 statement on Tuesday (Feb 24).
Deliberations are expected to go on for at least two days before Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong delivers a round-up speech, clarifies queries from Members of Parliament and sums up the Budget.
This will be followed by the Committee of Supply debates, which allow parliament to examine each ministry's plans.
In his Budget 2026 statement on Feb 12, Mr Wong announced a number of measures to help both Singaporeans and businesses.
These included investing in frontier technologies under Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2030, providing Singaporeans taking up selected AI courses with six months of free access to premium AI tools, and distributing more payouts to eligible Singaporeans.
Aside from the Budget debate, MPs will also discuss Singapore's space sector plans and the recent measles cases.
MP Victor Lye (PAP-Ang Mo Kio) filed a question asking what strategic role Singapore intends to play in the global space economy beyond domestic launch capability over the next decade and how the country will leverage its comparative advantages.
He also asked what specific space-related activities Singapore expects to develop as core growth areas and what the expected economic value-add and skilled jobs in the space sector are for Singaporeans.
Nominated Member of Parliament Mark Lee asked how the government plans to build ecosystem-level awareness and capability pathways for small and medium enterprises to participate in space and quantum sectors, given the high entry barriers and scale advantages typically associated with these industries.
NMP Neo Kok Beng asked about the government's plans, if any, to leverage on the upcoming Artemis II mission and what the government's budget is for such plans.
Earlier this month, Minister-in-charge of Energy and Science and Technology Tan See Leng announced that Singapore will set up a national space agency in April.
The National Space Agency of Singapore aims to provide decisive leadership for Singapore to seize opportunities in the space economy and the new possibilities posed by democratised access to outer space.
MP Yip Hon Weng (PAP-Yio Chu Kang) asked for breakdowns of measles infections over the past five years by residency status and for data on breakthrough infections during this period.
He also asked what the assessment of undetected community transmission and the risk to Singapore's measles elimination status are, and whether the current herd immunity to measles in Singapore is sufficient to protect infants who are ineligible for vaccination against the disease.
MP Joan Pereira (PAP-Tanjong Pagar) asked what measures have been implemented to prevent the spread of measles in the community and what public messages and education are in place to advise on the prevention of the disease's spread and recovery for those who have been infected with it.
She also wanted to know whether the Ministry of Health will recommend measles, mumps and rubella vaccine boosters for adults, especially senior citizens or those whose immunity is compromised.
MP Choo Pei Ling (PAP-Chua Chu Kang) asked whether the Ministry of Health keeps track of children's compulsory vaccinations against measles and diphtheria and ensures that they have been administered.
She also wanted to know, if so, what the compliance rate has been and what actions are taken when children have not had their compulsory vaccinations.
There have been 13 cases of measles reported in Singapore this year as of Feb 13.
Earlier in February, it was announced that Singapore would be introducing measures for measles cases, such as mandatory isolation, contact tracing and quarantine of some close contacts.
Questions regarding the 21 per cent decline in cancer mortality since 2012, threats against national security sites in the past year and the risks of loot boxes and gacha mechanics were also filed.
