Oral Reply to Parliamentary Question on Personal Operation of Hawker Stall

Question:

To ask the Minister of Sustainability and the Environment a) why does NEA require stallholders to personally operate hawker stalls; b) how is this aligned with the objectives of hawker centres; and c) whether there are any circumstances where NEA exercises flexibility when hawker stallholders are temporarily unable to operate their stalls due to personal reasons.

Answer:

1 Stalls in our hawker centres provide an opportunity for Singaporeans to personally operate their own small food businesses at lower costs, and provide affordable hawker food options. By personal operations, NEA requires hawkers to physically operate their stalls.

2 The requirement for a hawker to personally operate the stall is important as it prevents subletting. If this requirement is not imposed, the tenant who has successfully bid for the stall could potentially sublet the stall and collect the difference in rent. It may encourage persons to bid for a stall without an intention to run a stall but only to sublet it. If the tenant is unable to operate the stall, he is expected to return the stall to NEA which will then release the stall for other interested hawkers to bid for the stall. This will give new hawkers a fair chance to enter the trade. 

3 The Member asks whether there are any circumstances where NEA exercises flexibility when hawker stallholders are temporarily unable to operate their stalls. In situations where a hawker is temporarily unable to operate the stall for good reasons, for example, for medical reasons, he or she can appoint a joint operator or a nominee to operate the stall during that period. In the event that the stall has to close temporarily, NEA may also extend support through rental waivers.

4 NEA supports hawkers who wish to expand their businesses by allowing individuals to hold up to two cooked food stalls in hawker centres, provided they are able to divide their time and operate the stalls personally. Hawkers have also made use of other arrangements to grow their businesses. Some take on more stalls at hawker centres with their family members as stallholders or sell their recipes to other hawkers. Others continue to operate their stalls personally even as they expand their businesses to coffeeshops and other F&B establishments. For those who are unable to personally operate their hawker stalls, they may relinquish their stalls or hand them over to a family member. There are also hawkers who enter into franchise arrangements, where they can leverage established brands to start or grow their business. It is in this context that we sometimes see stalls carrying the same brand across hawker centres. NEA does not restrict such arrangements, as long as registered stallholders in hawker centres are still able to fulfil the tenancy requirements by personally operating their stalls. 

5 NEA generally does not allow corporates to bid directly for and operate hawker stalls as this could crowd out aspiring hawkers, and run counter to our intent of providing opportunities for Singaporeans to run small food businesses. We have made some exceptions based on social considerations. For example, operators of Socially Conscious Enterprise Hawker Centres (SEHCs) are allowed to run a small number of stalls as part of their management contract to help sustain the centre’s overall operations. Operators are required to plough back at least 50% of any surpluses to benefit the centre and stallholders, such as by providing shuttle services from transport nodes. 

6 Our hawker centres have played an integral role in nation building, and hawker culture has been an important part of the Singapore identity. We want our hawker centres to continue providing opportunities for Singaporeans to directly operate their own small food businesses. We will continue to support them as best as we can.