Public Sector (Governance) Bill

Bill No. 45/2017

Read the first time on 6 November 2017.

An Act to provide for a consistent governance framework across public bodies in Singapore and to support a whole‑of‑government approach to the delivery of services in the Singapore public sector, and to make consequential and related amendments to certain other Acts.

Be it enacted by the President with the advice and consent of the Parliament of Singapore, as follows:

PART 1

PRELIMINARY

Short title and commencement

1. This Act is the Public Sector (Governance) Act 2018 and comes into operation on a date that the Minister appoints by notification in the Gazette.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —

“chairperson”, in relation to a public body, means the individual who is appointed under the constitutional Act of the public body as the chairperson of the public body, and includes any individual appointed under that Act to act in that capacity;

“chief executive”, in relation to a public body, means the individual (however designated) who is appointed as the chief executive officer of the public body, and includes any individual acting in that capacity temporarily;

“comply”, in relation to a direction under Part 2, means to give effect to the direction or to have regard to the direction, as the context of the direction requires;

“constitutional Act”, in relation to a public body, means the Act by or under which the public body is established;

“control”, in relation to information, has the meaning in subsection (3);

“data sharing direction” means a direction given under section 4 on sharing of information or re‑identification of anonymised information under the control of a Singapore public sector agency;

“financial year”, for a public body, means a period defined by the constitutional Act of the public body to be the financial year of the public body;

“function” means a function under written law and includes a power or duty under written law;

“governing body”, for a public body, means the public body unless the constitutional Act of the public body specifies otherwise;

“Group 1 public body” means a public body specified in the First Schedule;

“Group 1A public body” means a public body specified in Part 1 of the First Schedule;

“Group 1B public body” means a public body specified in Part 2 of the First Schedule;

“Group 1C public body” means a public body specified in Part 3 of the First Schedule;

“Group 2 public body” means a public body specified in the Second Schedule, being a public body the main function of which is to regulate the practice and standards of a profession;

“Group 2A public body” means a public body specified in Part 1 of the Second Schedule;

“Group 2B public body” means a public body specified in Part 2 of the Second Schedule;

“Group 3 public body” means a public body specified in the Third Schedule, being a public body the main function of which is to represent particular community interests or the volunteer movement;

“Group 3A public body” means a public body specified in Part 1 of the Third Schedule;

“Group 3B public body” means a public body specified in Part 2 of the Third Schedule;

“information” includes —

(a)	any facts, statistics, instructions, concepts or other data in a form that is capable of being communicated, analysed or processed (whether by an individual or a computer or other automated methods); and
(b)	data sets;

“member”, in relation to a public body, means —

(a)	an individual who is appointed under the constitutional Act of the public body as a member of the public body; or
(b)	an individual who is appointed under the constitutional Act of the public body as a member of the governing body of the public body, where there is a governing body,

and includes an individual who is appointed under the constitutional Act of the public body to act in that capacity temporarily;

“public body” means a body corporate established by a public Act for the purposes of a public function but excludes a Town Council established under section 4 of the Town Councils Act (Cap. 329A);

“public service” means —

(a)	the Singapore Armed Forces;
(b)	the Singapore Civil Defence Force;
(c)	the Singapore Civil Service;
(d)	the Singapore Legal Service; and
(e)	the Singapore Police Force;

“Public Service Commission” means the Public Service Commission established under Article 105 of the Constitution;

“responsible Minister”, in relation to a public body, means the Minister charged with the responsibility for the public body;

“share”, in relation to information under the control of a Singapore public sector agency, means to provide (or be provided with) the information;

“Singapore public sector” means the sector comprising —

(a)	the public service; and
(b)	all Group 1, Group 2 and Group 3 public bodies;

“Singapore public sector agency” means any of the following:

(a)	a Group 1, Group 2 or Group 3 public body;
(b)	a Ministry or department of the Government;
(c)	an Organ of State;
(d)	a public officer or a person exercising a public official function, who is declared by the Minister by order in the Gazette to be a Singapore public sector agency for the purposes of this Act;

“whole-of-government” means the whole of the Singapore public sector.

(2) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, an individual is an officer of a Singapore public sector agency for the time he or she is —

(a)	a public officer holding a post in a Ministry or department of the Government or an Organ of State which is that Singapore public sector agency (including a public officer on leave without pay);
(b)	an employee of a Group 1, Group 2 or Group 3 public body which is that Singapore public sector agency (including an employee on leave without pay); or
(c)	under a secondment arrangement making available temporarily to that Singapore public sector agency the service of the individual.

(3) For the purposes of this Act, a Singapore public sector agency is taken to have control of information if —

(a)	the Singapore public sector agency has possession or custody of the information; or
(b)	the Singapore public sector agency has the information in the possession or custody of some other person.

Purpose of Act

3. The purposes of this Act are —

(a)	to establish a consistent system of governance and accountability across public bodies in Singapore that meets high standards of accountability;
(b)	to clarify the accountability relationship between public bodies, their members, their responsible Ministers and the Government; and
(c)	to require and support a whole-of-government approach to the delivery of services in the Singapore public sector.

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