There was a moment, an hour before an event last week, when 30 or so young fresh-faced people stood around their creation and posed for a group photo.

They were in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) museum in Cambridge, Massachusetts. All around them, reminders of historic innovations that began with research at this legendary college.
As the photographer clicked away, I wondered - what place in history would this photograph have? Will we look back at these 30 smiles and say, "That was the team that changed the world!"?
If that is to be the case, there is a long road ahead. And indeed, it is long roads that are the motivation for this project. The MIT team is one of several working on Hyperloop, a vision for rapid travel put forth by Silicon Valley's most interesting man, Elon Musk.
He says the commute from San Francisco to Los Angeles - currently a five-hour drive or an hour of flying - could be cut to 30 minutes.
Hyperloop is a conceptual transport system in which passengers are loaded into pods and fired through vacuum tubes at more than 600mph (1,000km/h).
Prototype pods have been tested running along magnetic tracks, much like the maglev trains used in countries such as Japan today.
Pumping the air out of the tubes reduces resistance, allowing high speeds to be achieved, potentially using less energy than a train.
The idea could reduce journey times over long distances, but there are many challenges for the rival developers to overcome before any such project can become a reality.
Mr Musk is the boss of Tesla and founder of SpaceX, and when he published in 2013 a white paper outlining a way to use airtight tubes to propel pods at speeds of up to 700mph (1130km/h), he set a challenge to anyone and everyone who wanted to try and build the technology.
Mr Musk isn't paying the firms, but he has committed to funding a series of tests. The hope is that these will happen in August this year. The target is that by 2021 humans will be travelling on Hyperloops around the world.
The MIT team is one of more than 20 non-commercial groups also designing a Hyperloop pod - with money coming from SpaceX in the form of a competition.
That was split over two phases - a design contest, which MIT won in January, and an on-track test coming up in the summer.
But it all could be a colossal waste of time. The barriers to Hyperloop becoming a reality are enormous - and it's not just about technology.
Part of any visionary's CV is the ability to ignore the naysayers and focus on your vision. If and when you succeed, everyone backtracks and says they knew you were a genius all along.
Elon Musk is the sort of chap that is used to people telling him he's wrong. When he set out to make electric cars appeal to petrolheads, he had a lot of people to convince - but somehow, and on the brink of bankruptcy, he got some investors on board.
Yet an awful lot stands in Hyperloop's way. Literally.
Christopher Merian, chief engineer on MIT's effort, told me that the key problem with his pod - and the Hyperloop concept in general - is that it can't handle corners.
So the Hyperloop tube would need to take a rather Roman approach, and go in an almost complete straight line from A to B.
If the proposed route of San Francisco to Los Angeles is to be realised, you're looking at slicing through some of the most beautiful sights the natural world has to offer, not to mention acre after acre of land belonging to people who may not be too keen on a big fat tube being plonked outside their front door.
Philippe Kirschen, MIT's team captain, told me he thinks this will lead to Hyperloop being built in a different part of the world with a less strenuous regulatory environment.
Indeed it's hard to imagine anywhere in the US that would be suitable for Hyperloop, short of shelling out monstrous payouts and a free Tesla or two to people whose lives have been uprooted.
But let's put that aside and, for the sake of argument, say an agreement has been made and a route between San Francisco and Los Angeles is built. It works, it's safe and it's pretty darn marvellous, all told.
Except it is really, really expensive.
Mr Musk says the cost of building the route would be in the region of $6bn (Â£4.1bn), an estimate most agree is extremely conservative.
Some are calling Hyperloop the new Concorde which, despite being a glorious piece of innovation, ultimately failed due to regulations - it wasn't allowed to fly at supersonic speeds over land - and a lack of profitability.
A return ticket on Concorde would see you part with several thousand pounds or dollars. Which over time was not considered to be worthwhile trade to save a few hours.
How much will a ticket for Hyperloop cost?
MIT's pod design - which they said can be scaled up - will likely be able to carry around 20 people at once.
Unless the Hyperloop system can handle a great number of pods leaving a station in very quick succession, tickets for those pods will need to be extremely high in order to make the system economically viable.
Furthermore, if Hyperloop runs from San Francisco to Los Angeles, it will be competing with the currently under-construction California High Speed Rail. The network - due to open in 2025 - promises a journey time of two hours and 40 minutes. Each train will be able to carry well over a thousand people. Tickets, surely, will be a lot cheaper than Hyperloop.
It would leave Hyperloop as an option only for the rich. Public support no doubt would evaporate.
I was something of a partypooper at MIT's event, I'll admit - putting all these points to the team on a night designed to celebrate their outstanding efforts thus far.
The math(s) not adding up was a concern, they said - but at the very least, the hope is that developing Hyperloop will create something, even if it's not the transportation of the future.
There could be many industrial uses for an environmentally friendly Hyperloop-style system.
In 50 years, when we look back at the hopeful, expectant faces in that photograph, it seems unlikely that we'll see them as the team that changed the way we travel.
But that's not to say developing Hyperloop - a clean, perhaps revolutionary technology - won't have been worth it.
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Laura Collett says she owes her life to a hi-tech air jacket after a heavy fall which left the British event rider with spine, shoulder and rib fractures.

The 23-year-old was in a coma for six days, but wants to resume riding and represent Team GB at the 2016 Olympics.
"Paramedics said the air jacket I was wearing [which inflates much like a car air bag] probably saved my life," Wiltshire-based Collett told BBC Sport.
Collett fell from Tis A Beauty at Tweseldown, Hampshire on 8 July.
The rider, who has also been retraining top racehorse Kauto Star in dressage, suffered crush injuries to her lungs and liver after falling from the seven-year-old mare and was taken to the intensive care unit at Southampton General Hospital.
I'm very thankful I had an air jacket on and hope more people get them
But she is now out of hospital and well enough to speak at length about her close escape.
"Any horse falling on you is a pretty serious thing. To come away with hopefully no serious injuries is pretty lucky really. The horse was a bit stiff but she's fine apart from that. I've been up to the yard and seen all the horses," she said.
"There's nothing really that can't be fixed. I've got a few fractures, but they are all on the mend. Hopefully, it won't be too long. The plan is to get back to normal, and get back to eventing as soon as I can."
The lightweight air jacket, which is now used by many riders in eventing, is designed to inflate after a fall and offer a cushion to the neck, spine and body.
"The paramedics watched the video footage and my jacket did go off before the horse came down on me. I'm very thankful I had an air jacket on and hope more people get them," she added.
"They are not compulsory. It is at your own discretion. A lot of people do wear them. Anyone who has had a bad fall with them on would swear by them. They are very good jackets and something we have got used to.
"A few years ago, no-one had heard of them. Now a lot of people wouldn't ride without them. Sport changes, and things get better."
Collett is recuperating at Oaksey House, a facility in Lambourn, Berkshire, run by the Injured Jockeys' Fund, with her stay funded through the British Olympic Association's world-class scheme.
It gives her access to leading physiotherapists, with specialist conditioning work and massages aiding her rehabilitation.
"Hopefully, it won't be too long before I can get back riding,  and Rio [Olympics] is the aim for the next few years," she said.
"I don't remember being at Tweseldown on the day and I rode three horses before I had my fall. It's completely blank.
"I don't remember being in hospital when I was in my induced coma. I only really remember when I was woken up and had friends and family there, which means I'm not as badly off as the poor people who had to suffer me being in hospital in a coma for almost a week. Really, I've got off lightly."
Collett said she had been away from her yard at Membury, which currently has about 12 horses, for about a fortnight - the longest time she can recall in recent years.
"My horse Rayef stopped eating for a few days, and as soon as I got back he started eating again. It could be complete coincidence, but I'm going to go with the fact that he was just pleased to see me," she said.
Two-time Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Kauto Star, the winner of a record five King George VI Chases, was another pleased to see her.
On retirement from racing, the steeplechaser was transferred from champion trainer Paul Nicholls in Somerset to Collett by owner Clive Smith for a new challenge.
"He's in great form, he behaved really well doing a dressage display at the Barbury trials, which was the day before my fall, and he was fantastic," said Collett.
"For everyone involved and hopefully anyone who was a bit unsure whether it was the right thing to do, he is taking to it really well. He's an amazing horse and I don't think we'll see another like him in any discipline, let alone being good at one sport and retraining in another without having any problems.
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"In a few months' time when things quieten down, we might take him somewhere. He hasn't got anything to prove and anything he does is a bonus."
While Collett improved in hospital, she was conscious of the battle being waged by injured jockey Brian Toomey, who is in hospital with a serious head injury after a fall at Perth racecourse.
"That's where you can be very lucky. You can have someone else who's fallen and be in a worse condition," she said.
"Thankfully, he seems to be making progress. It was amazing to see the support he's getting as well and fingers crossed, he keeps improving."
Collett said she will have no problem returning to the saddle, particularly as she remembers nothing of her accident.
"We know it's part of our sport. As riders we are probably better at carrying on as normal, whereas other people not associated with it might find it a bit strange that you can get back on as though nothing has happened. You just have to take the good with the bad," she added.
Collett was wearing an air jacket manufactured by Surrey-based company Point Two, which says it has sold 30,000 of the jackets globally.
"The belief from many that saw Laura's accident, including paramedics and jump judges, and indeed Laura herself, was it prevented more serious injuries," said the firm's general manager Julian Westaway.
He said tests were continuing on a jacket which might be suitable for jump racing.
"We have been working closely with the British Horseracing Authority and Injured Jockeys' Fund to develop an air bag standard for jockeys as there is growing understanding of the protection that could be offered in the event of a fall," he added.
"The jackets have been tested for a wide range of features including inflation speed, pressure at inflation, impact tests, area of coverage, and ergonomics to ensure the jockeys could still tuck and roll."


A dashboard camera uncovered a "wicked and dangerous" crash for cash scam, a Manchester court heard.

The on-board footage showed Audi driver Alina Khan, 30, from Oldham, brake heavily to stage an accident.
She was given a suspended jail sentence at Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court after admitting fraud by false representation at an earlier hearing.
The crash took place in Chester Road, Hulme, in June 2011.
Khan was given a 14-month sentence suspended for two years and will also be supervised by the Probation Service for six months.
Co-defendants Kamran Yasin, 32, of Brook Lane, Oldham, and Sarafaraz Ahmed, 31, of Cambridge Road, Oldham, who both admitted the same offence, will be sentenced next month.
'Single isolated incident'
The court heard the victim's vehicle was fitted with a dashboard camera readily available in high street stores.
The incident was passed to fraud investigators after co-defendant Yasin, 32, gave details of the crash to accident management firm boss Ahmed, 31, who put in a fraudulent claim for up to Â£30,000 damages to insurers LV (Liverpool Victoria).
Judge Angela Nield told Khan, of Eric Street, Oldham, she had committed a "wicked and dangerous" act which usually merited an immediate custodial term, but she could suspend the sentence after reviewing medical evidence involving her disabled daughter.
The court heard Khan had breached the terms of another suspended sentence given to her in 2010 for benefit fraud.
Martin Callery, defending Khan, said it was a "single isolated incident".


A man and a woman who tried to rob a man at knifepoint in York fled after one of them was bitten by their would-be victim's dog.

The man, aged in his early 60s, was confronted by the pair on Pateley Place on Saturday evening and threatened with a knife.
But the would-be victim's dog bit the man while the owner lashed the woman with the dog lead.
Police have appealed for witnesses to come forward.
The woman was about 30-years-old, white, approximately 5ft 3in tall with a thin build and blonde hair.
The man was in his mid-20s, white and approximately 5ft 9in tall.
At the time he was wearing a dark coloured sweatshirt  and jeans.
Det Con Mo Mohammed said: "As the man screamed when he was bitten by the dog, I am sure that someone will have heard him and ask that they contact me as soon as possible.
"I would also like to hear from anyone who knows a man who has recently suffered a dog bite to his arm or may have treated the injuries for him."


Pharmaceutical firm Johnson & Johnson has warned that one of its insulin pumps for diabetics is at risk of being hacked, causing an overdose.

The firm said the vulnerability concerned its OneTouch Ping pump which is only sold in the US and Canada.
However, it told the BBC there had been no reported attacks and the risk was "extremely low".
"It would require technical expertise, sophisticated equipment and proximity to the pump," it said.
The disclosure was made in a letter to patients on 27 September, the firm said.
The Animas OneTouch Ping pump, which was launched in 2008, enables diabetics to dose themselves with insulin using a Wi-Fi remote control. This removes the hassle of directly accessing the device, which can be worn under the patient's clothes.
Johnson & Johnson said the pump was not connected to the internet or to any external network.
But Jay Radcliffe - a diabetic and researcher with cyber security firm Rapid7 - said he had discovered it could still be hacked from a distance of 25 feet.
He found communications between the pump and its radio frequency remote could be hijacked - in theory allowing a hacker to administer unauthorised injections.
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) said it had confirmed Mr Radcliffe's findings but that the pump remained "safe and reliable".
It said worried patients could take precautions, such as not using the pump's remote and programming the device to limit its maximum dose.
There are growing concerns over the risk of medical device hacks.
In February, cyber security firm Kaspersky Lab revealed it had hacked into a hospital's IT infrastructure - with its permission - and was able to access an MRI device.
And the US Food & Drug Administration is said to be preparing formal guidance for manufacturers on how to respond to reports of cyber attacks.
The agency has previously urged medical firms to work with cyber security experts to mitigate risks - however it says it knows of no cases where criminals have hacked a device to cause harm.


Lufthansa has said it will slow the pace of its growth plans this year as it continues to come under pressure from lower cost competitors.

It comes as the German airline reported a net loss of €8m (£6.3m) in the three months to the end of March against a profit of €425m a year earlier.
The airline said it would now grow the number of seats it offers by 6% this year instead of 6.6%.
It said it would also look at whether further cost cuts needed to be made.
In March, Lufthansa said it would resume dividend payments to shareholders and forecast slightly higher profits in 2016.
The airline confirmed those forecasts on Tuesday, despite saying profits at its cargo unit would be significantly below those of the year before.
Last week, British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines Group said it would temporarily slow plans to fly more routes. This was due to the impact of the Brussels terror attacks on travel, and also a result of weaker demand from high-margin business travellers.
Lufthansa's chief financial officer Simone Menne said yields - a measure of revenues per mile per passenger - fell 5.4% in the quarter.
However. she said that the group had not seen a substantial financial impact since the terror attacks in Paris and Brussels.
Lufthansa is still trying to bring costs down at its main brand to compete more effectively with low cost carriers in Europe.
It is also coming under pressure from Middle East rivals on long-haul flights and has been in a long-term dispute with pilots and cabin crew as a result on a new pay and pension deal.
Last year, it was hit by strikes by both pilots and cabin crew, which cost Lufthansa €231m in lost earnings.


A search is under way for a man who failed to return from Dorset's Jurassic Coast after going spear fishing.

An extensive overnight air, sea and land search for Andrew Scott by police and coastguard crews began shortly after 21:00 BST on Monday.
The coastguard said the search has since resumed.
Mr Scott, 27, from Winterborne Whitechurch, failed to return home after leaving to go fishing at Ringstead Bay on Monday afternoon.
Police have appealed to anyone who saw Mr Scott - who was possibly wearing a full black wetsuit, blue flippers and a snorkel - to contact them.
His bright-orange dry bag containing his car keys, mobile phone and clothing were found at the White Nothe headland, while his car was parked at nearby Ringstead Bay.


A prank played by a developer has exposed a "serious lapse of security" in the dating app Tinder, according to one expert.

The developer reportedly tricked men into flirting with each other, using fake profiles he created as bait.
Men who sought to contact one of the fake women were matched up with each other, rather than with her.
Security consultant Prof Alan Woodward said the episode "cannot help but knock one's confidence" in Tinder's security.
The Verge reported on Wednesday that the anonymous developer had managed to manipulate Tinder's application program interface (API), which controls how apps and programs interact.
The developer reportedly created a program that could detect when men on Tinder expressed an interest in talking to the fictitious women portrayed in his bait profiles.
Two men who did so were then put in touch with each other, rather than with the woman, with the messages relayed via the dummy account. The developer, named by the Verge as "Patrick", then collected the messages they sent each other.
The process had been, he said, "surprisingly easy".
Prof Woodward told the BBC: "Put simply, it shouldn't be possible for someone to do this, so the fact that Tinder was 'tweaked' in this way is a serious lapse in security.
"I am surprised that a company that is dealing with such sensitive interactions, which are billed as being truly private, has not seen this loophole in its own penetration testing."
He said that companies that dealt with sensitive data were "trusted by default" by their users, adding: "I would have hoped that such companies would exercise the most stringent efforts as part of their duty of care".
Patrick told the Verge that he was a Tinder user himself and had met his current girlfriend using the app.
He was motivated, he said, by a desire to draw attention to the sometimes harassing nature of the messages many women received from men on it.
"The original idea was to throw that back into the face of the people doing it to see how they would react," he said.
He said that the first matches had been made within minutes of the program's activation and that he had been overseeing 40 conversations between men within 12 hours.
Patrick told the website that he had intervened if a real-world meeting was imminent.
Of the people he pranked, he said: "They ignore all the signs, they ignore all the weird things. When someone is so quick to meet up without any detail or know anything about the person at all, maybe it's deserved."
While he sympathised with the developer's reasoning, Prof Woodward said: "There is no excuse for exploiting any such vulnerability and mounting this kind of interference.
"If someone is researching security, then most companies now have a bounty programme that pays them for reporting problems such as this."
It is not the first time Tinder has faced scrutiny over its security. In 2013, it was reported that some users could have been tracked to within 100ft (30m). That flaw was later patched.
The developer could not be reached for comment. A spokesman for Tinder did not respond to a request for comment.


Olympic gold medallist Kate Richardson-Walsh has been nominated for a place in the European Hockey Hall of Fame.

The 36-year-old captained Great Britain to a historic first Olympic hockey gold by beating defending champions the Netherlands at Rio 2016.
She was named flagbearer for Team GB at the Olympic closing ceremony.
The Mancunian was also the first hockey player to be nominated for BBC's Sports Personality of the Year, where she finished sixth overall.
Britain's most-capped player retired from international hockey in August, after winning 375 caps in a 17-year international career.
Richardson-Walsh became an OBE in February, having been awarded an MBE in 2014 for services to hockey.
Fans can vote for who they want to appear in the hall of fame, with the winner announced in this summer's EuroHockey Championships in Amsterdam.


The world's oldest person, a Japanese woman called Misao Okawa, has died a few weeks after celebrating her 117th birthday.

She died of heart failure and stopped breathing as her grandson and nursing home workers stood by her side.
Tomohiro Okada, an official at her Osaka nursing home, praised her for achieving a healthy long life.
"She went so peacefully, as if she had just fallen asleep," said Okada. "We miss her a lot."
Okawa, born in Osaka on 5 March 1898, was recognized as the world's oldest person by Guinness World Records in 2013.
Okada said Okawa lost her appetite about 10 days ago.
The daughter of a kimono maker, she said at her birthday celebration that her life had seemed short.
Okawa married her husband, Yukio, in 1919, and they had two daughters and a son.
She is survived by four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Her husband died in 1931. She was 47 when World War Two ended.
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Police have recovered a suspected firearm near a community centre in Strabane, County Tyrone.

It was found behind a row of bushes in the Ballycolman estate on Wednesday.
It has been taken away by officers for examination.
Det Insp Andy Workman said: "It is reckless in the extreme to leave such an item in an area near to a community centre which is frequented by all members of the community, including children."
He said the "danger" had now been removed and appealed for information.
In a separate incident, police said a number of suspicious objects found during a search of open land at Spout Road in Strabane have been taken away for examination.
Police said there were no further details at this stage.


A Welsh MP has told of hearing shots outside Parliament, following a terrorist attack which left five people dead and at least 40 injured.

One was a police officer who died after being stabbed, another was his alleged attacker who was shot by armed police.
Monmouth MP David Davies told BBC Wales: "The shots started, I was with other MPs, we immediately dropped to the floor and then hid behind pillars."
It came after a car crashed into several people on Westminster Bridge.
Scotland Yard confirmed there was a "firearms incident" on Westminster Bridge at 14:40 GMT on Wednesday following a car crash.
At least one woman is known to be among those killed, with many of the 40 injured being struck by a car on Westminster Bridge.
The police officer killed in the attack has been named by Scotland Yard as PC Keith Palmer.
The 48-year-old husband and father was stabbed by his attacker, who was then shot dead.
Acting Deputy Commissioner and head of counter terrorism at the Metropolitan Police, Mark Rowley said they believed the attacker was inspired by Islamist-related terrorism.
He also said police believe they know the identity of the man.
Downing Street said the prime minister was in Parliament at the time but had been taken back safely to Number 10.
Staff inside Parliament were told to stay inside their offices as proceedings in the Commons were suspended and they were later evacuated to Westminster Abbey.
Mr Davies told BBC News he had been walking with fellow Conservative MP Grant Shapps at the time of the incident.
"We were in New Palace Yard. We heard a load of shouting - I thought it was protesters," he said.
"The next thing there was at least one shot, I think I looked around and thought 'that can't be for real, can it?'
"And then more shots - I can't remember exactly, but I shouted 'get down', or 'everyone get down on the floor'.
"People started moving backwards, I waited for the shots to stop.
"I was behind a pillar, and I just took a chance and ran back to Portcullis House - I just didn't know what was going on."
Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns, who was in a meeting with the Prime Minister and cabinet members at the time of the incident, described it as a "tragic attack at the heart of democracy".
"My thoughts and prayers are with those who were tragically killed and injured and my undiluted gratitude goes to the police, house staff and emergency services for keeping us safe. I will be forever grateful," he added.
Montgomeryshire MP Glyn Davies said MPs had been voting at the time of the incident, and there was a "lockdown" of Parliament as police checked the area.
"We're a bit shaken as the reality of the attack sets in," he said. "My thoughts go out to anyone who's been injured."
Several Welsh MPs used social media to let family, friends and colleagues know they were safe before MPs were allowed to leave Westminster Abbey at about 19:30 GMT.
Among them was Rhondda MP Chris Bryant, who paid tribute to security services saying they had done an "amazing job".
"We're just constantly aware that people put themselves in harm's way to protect us and to protect our way of life," he said.
"My heart goes out to the people who have lost people.
"The idea that completely innocent individuals walking past - who have absolutely nothing to do with political life - might have lost their life is obviously very distressing."
Mr Bryant added he hoped Parliament would be open on Thursday.
"We need to be able to show that nothing will stop British democracy," he said.
Proceedings at the Welsh Assembly in Cardiff were suspended on Wednesday afternoon in the wake of the incidents, and following the suspension of proceedings in the House of Commons and the Scottish Parliament.
The presence of armed officers around Welsh Assembly buildings and in the surrounding area has been increased as a precaution, presiding officer Elin Jones said.
Interrupting a debate, Ms Jones said: "We are aware of the disturbing events at Westminster.
"I have spoken to our security personnel here in the Senedd and we are taking appropriate steps.
"I will be keeping this matter under review as the business of the afternoon progresses.
"I'm sure all our thoughts are with our colleagues and all involved at Westminster at this very difficult time."
First Minister Carwyn Jones tweeted: "Disturbing images emerging from Westminster. This is a terrible attack at the heart of our democracy; thoughts are with all those affected."
South Wales Police assistant chief constable Richard Lewis said additional security was being taken at key locations as a "sensible precaution".
But he said there was no intelligence of a specific threat to locations in south Wales.


Gunmen and armed police have been exchanging fire at an exclusive shopping centre in Nairobi.

The events began around midday local time (09:00 GMT) and have left several people dead and injured.
Many shoppers fled the building, but a number of others remain trapped inside.
One person hiding inside the building has been in contact with a friend living in Ireland, sending emails describing the situation and their fears.
These are the emails, describing this shopper's experience as written, through the timeline of the email correspondence.
Am hiding in a store at (location withheld), my next person an Indian shot. Severe shooting going on within the premises.  I left parcel  in my car mid of the road, praying
Thugs inside, we don't know when the police will rescue us, all over tvs and radio, we are warned not to move, am in a dark store, more police coming
I don't even know if I stopped engine of car. Nobody is going out, only police. Praying they ditch thugs out. It is a big shopping mall, now knowing where thugs are is hard. Getting out of here is a mystery. My next person an Indian shot and bleeding
Waiting 4 police to declare building safe, hiding
Am rescued, my car near the building. So many people killed, it al shabab. My car not safe. Thanks. Rescued by international rescue


The government is promising a new emphasis on people who rent their homes when it unveils its housing strategy this week.

Housing Minister Gavin Barwell said there would be minimum tenancies and more homes built for rent in a "change of tone" from previous Tory policy.
He said the government had not given up making home ownership available to all.
Labour said ministers "do next to nothing" to help those renting from private landlords.
Speaking on the BBC's Sunday Politics, Mr Barwell said the government had to have "something to say" to renters who were facing unaffordable costs.
Mr Barwell said a package of measures would be in the White Paper due to be published on Tuesday.
These will aim to encourage more investment in building homes for affordable rent, which he defined as at least 20% below the market rate, with councils encouraged to get more involved.
Ministers have previously announced letting agents in England will be banned from charging fees to tenants.
The last Conservative general election manifesto said "everyone who works hard should be able to own a home of their own", and Mr Barwell said the government was still committed to reversing the decline in home ownership.
But he said policies were also needed to support tenants in the private rental market, who are estimated to number about 4.3 million.
"Whether you're trying to buy or you're trying to rent, housing in this country has become less and less affordable because for 30 or 40 years governments have not built enough homes and this White Paper is fundamentally trying to do something about that," he said.
Mr Barwell acknowledged that the most recent figures showing the number of new affordable homes at a 24-year low were "embarrassing", but said this was because they came at the start of a new five-year programme.
And he insisted the government was committed to building one million new homes in England by 2020, despite being "behind schedule".
He said the government would not make any changes to the current rules on the green belt, which allow building only in "exceptional circumstances".
"This idea that we can only fix our broken housing market by taking huge swathes out of the green belt is not true," he added.
But Labour has said the proposals on build-to-rent fall far short of what is needed.
Shadow housing secretary John Healey said: "Ministers continue to do next to nothing to help people who rent from a private landlord and have consistently blocked Labour's attempts to change the law to control costs and give renters security."
Where can I afford to live?


Momentum is gathering in Australia to push for the elimination of the death penalty around the world but some say Australians should address attitudes in their own backyard first.

Not long before they died, convicted drug traffickers Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran expressed a wish for a global campaign to abolish the death penalty.
They had spent 10 long years in Indonesian prisons after being convicted in 2006 of playing a major role in the so-called Bali Nine drug ring that attempted to smuggle more than 18lb (8.2kg) of heroin from Indonesia to Australia.
By all accounts, they had worked hard to rehabilitate themselves: Chan had qualified as a pastor and ministered to fellow inmates. Sukumaran found solace in art. His talent for painting earned him an associate degree in fine arts from Western Australia's Curtin University two months before his execution.
Those changes slowly won them the sympathy of many Australians. Now, their desire to see more action on the death penalty is being taken up by some of the country's top politicians.
Devastated by the failure of frantic diplomatic and legal bids to save their lives, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop last week said "it is time for us to have a significant discussion about the application of the death penalty for drug offences in our region".
Former Attorney General Philip Ruddock has taken the campaign a step further. He has written to the local diplomats of countries such as Brazil, France and Nigeria, whose nationals were executed this year by Indonesia or are on death row there.
Co-chair of Australian Parliamentarians against the Death Penalty, Mr Ruddock wants them to work with Australia on abolishing the death penalty in and beyond the region, including in the United States.
"I think it is timely that Australia indicates it has a principled position on this matter and that we're prepared to be on the front foot in advocating change," Mr Ruddock told the BBC.
But Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce, who is charged with managing sensitive trade issues with Indonesia, says Australia might have to look into its own backyard as well as trying to influence others.
"I have to be honest, I do get approached by people saying, 'Well, that might be your view, Barnaby, that you don't support the death penalty, but it's not our view'," he told ABC television.
"And I find that rather startling at times and I think that the discussion that we're having about others, we should also be carrying out domestically."
Australia has a long-standing bipartisan opposition to capital punishment and has not executed anyone since 1967.
But the nation's leaders at times send mixed messages about the death penalty. Comments by former Prime Minister John Howard in 2007 about the ringleaders of the 2002 Bali bombings, which killed 202 people, are a prime example.
"The idea that we would plead for the deferral of executions of people who murdered 88 Australians is distasteful to the entire community," he said.
However, Australians' acceptance of the use of the death penalty by other countries has fallen in recent years.
A  1986 poll found more than 70% believed it should be carried out if Australians were sentenced to death in another country, says Lowy Institute for International Policy polling director Alex Oliver.
But a Lowy poll conducted in February this year showed nearly a complete reversal:  62% of people did not want Chan and Sukumaran to be executed, and nearly 70% believed the death penalty should not be used to punish drug traffickers.
Another poll, in 2010, found that nearly 60% of people wanted Australia to push for abolition of the death penalty in South East Asia.  Ms Oliver expects to see similar sentiments in a poll conducted at the weekend about the latest executions, to be published later this week.
"The last 35 years have seen a strengthening opposition to the death penalty generally," she says.
However, she says views can change depending on who is facing capital punishment and what their crime is.
Most people hold inconsistent views on the death penalty, says Patrick Stokes, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at Melbourne's Deakin University.
"Most people don't like the death penalty but think maybe certain people should be put to death, or they don't want the death penalty here but are less concerned about overseas, or they don't like the thought of Australians being executed, say, in China or Malaysia or Indonesia but are not concerned about it being applied in places like the US, or Iran or Japan or Saudi Arabia," he says.
"It's an area where most people don't have a clear, principled position but a fragmented reaction to cases as they arrive."
Working harder to abolish the death penalty rather than just winning a reprieve for sentenced Australians would shield Australia from accusations of hypocrisy or "special pleading", says Lowy executive director Dr Michael Fullilove.
Asia is the obvious place for Australia to begin - it is home to "the world's worst offenders" on capital punishment, like China.  Mr Fullilove says Australia should forge a regional alliance with countries in the region that have abolished the death penalty: Cambodia, Nepal, East Timor, Bhutan and the Philippines. It should also make the issue not just a principle, but a priority.
"We should aim to become a leader in the international movement against the death penalty," he says.


Former Goldman Sachs economist Jim O'Neill is to become a key figure in the UK Treasury.

Mr O'Neill coined the term 'BRICs' [Brazil, Russia, India, China] to refer to developing economies.
Chancellor George Osborne tweeted that the retiring Goldman Sachs Asset Management chairman is to become the Commercial Secretary at the Treasury.
Mr Osborne chose Mr O'Neill to "make devolution and the Northern Powerhouse happen".
English cities will get powers on housing, transport, planning and policing under Mr Osborne's plans.
Greater Manchester - which will take on the powers when electing a mayor in two years - should become a blueprint for other large cities, he said.
A Cities Devolution Bill will be in the Queen's Speech later this month.
Mr O'Neill is chairman of the RSA City Growth Commission, which claimed the economy has seen 5% less growth per year between 2000 and 2010 as a result of "chronic" underinvestment outside London.
It urged an overhaul of transport, housing and broadband provision and more house building.
Mr O'Neill also recently headed a UK government-appointed review team calling for global antibiotic research.


Scottish Rugby is wise not to commit to the same coaching staff for the next World Cup, according to former international Scott Hastings.

All members of Vern Cotter's backroom team have followed the head coach in signing contract extensions to the summer of 2017.
Japan will stage the World Cup in 2019.
"It's a results-driven business and while Scotland can reflect on a good World Cup, remember there was a Six Nations Wooden Spoon," said Hastings.
Scotland reached the last eight of this year's World Cup, losing out to a controversial late penalty against Australia at Twickenham.
And Cotter's men will go into the Six Nations in February looking to atone for a miserable whitewash last time.
"The succession planning has worked well for this team," Hastings told BBC Scotland after assistants Matt Taylor and Jonathan Humphries agreed their new deals.
"Things are in place and Jason O'Halloran is also coming in from New Zealand to strengthen the coaching team.
"But we have had a few false dawns in the past and it's up to the players to deliver on the back of this strong announcement."
Edinburgh's Alan Solomons and Glasgow's Gregor Townsend are also contracted up to 2017.
Asked if either man could figure as a future Scotland head coach, Hastings, capped 65 times, replied: "Potentially, very much so."
However, the former centre is heartened by the World Cup display under Cotter, who took up the Scotland post in time for the summer tour of 2014.
"I think everybody can see there is an improvement within this Scotland team," he added.
"Can they eliminate the errors from their game and build on that World Cup performance going into the Six Nations?
"First up is England [6 February at Murrayfield] and it's important to get on the front foot and build momentum and continuity which will allow the succession planning to continue.
"There is a strong foundation there but Scotland teams need to start winning because if they don't there will be moves."


The UN says the situation in Syria's city of Aleppo is catastrophic, after dozens of people were killed in attacks on targets including a hospital

Air strikes on and around the Medecins Sans Frontieres-backed al-Quds hospital killed at least 27 people, while more than 30 died in other attacks.
UN envoy Jan Egeland said the next days would be vital for the humanitarian aid lifeline for much of Syria.
The violence has left a partial truce hanging by a thread.
UN envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura warned the cessation of hostilities agreed between non-jihadist rebels and government forces on 27 February was now "barely alive".
Separately, the Syrian government reported that 150 US troops had arrived in the town of Rmeilan in Syria's predominantly northern Kurdish province of Hassakeh, denouncing it as an "illegitimate intervention".
US President Barack Obama said last week he was deploying 250 troops to Syria to help certain rebel groups fight so-called Islamic State (IS).
Mr Egeland, the head of the UN humanitarian assistance to Syria, said he had been briefed on "the catastrophic deterioration in Aleppo over the last 24-48 hours... No-one doubts the severity of the situation."
He warned that the humanitarian lifeline for much of the country was at risk.
"I could not in any way express how high the stakes are for the next hours and days.
"So many humanitarian health workers and relief workers are being bombed, killed, maimed at the moment that the whole lifeline to millions of people is now also at stake."
Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said at least 14 patients and three doctors had been killed in the air strike on al-Quds hospital.
Among those killed was Mohammed Wasim Moaz, one of the city's last paediatricians, MSF said.
An MSF representative, Aitor Zabalgogeazkoa, told the BBC Dr Moaz had worked at the hospital since 2013.
Mr Zabalgogeazkoa said: "He kept it going, was always there and always worried about the needs of the people. He was honest and very committed. He worked in conditions you cannot even begin to imagine."
Local sources blamed war planes from the Syrian military or from Russia, which is supporting the government of President Bashar al-Assad, for the attack.
The Syrian military denied targeting the hospital. A military source was quoted on state TV as saying: "Such news is merely an attempt to cover up terrorist crimes which target peaceful citizens in Aleppo."
An activist at the scene, named Zuhair, told the BBC: "It was an air strike by two rockets, heavy rockets from [a] Russian air strike.
"Near the hospital, one building on five floors just crumbled and just crashed down and we don't know how many dead will be under these ruins."
However, Russian news agencies quoted the Russian defence ministry as saying it had carried out no air strikes in Aleppo in the past few days.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said he was "outraged" by the hospital attack, adding: "It appears to have been a deliberate strike on a known medical facility and follows the Assad regime's appalling record of striking such facilities."
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on both the US and Russia to exert pressure to stop the violence, and demanded a credible investigation into the hospital attack.
Monitoring groups said at least 20 people were killed in other attacks on rebel-held areas in Aleppo on Thursday, while at least 14 died in rocket strikes on government-controlled neighbourhoods.
The upsurge in violence comes amid reports that the Syrian army, backed by Russian air power, is gearing up for a major offensive in Aleppo.
One of the reasons why the "cessation of hostilities" is now at death's door was reflected in the fact that from the outset it was not called a ceasefire or even a truce, because several factions were excluded, including not just the Islamic State militants but also the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front.
Nusra fighters are present in almost all combat zones, and are mixed up with other groups such as Ahrar al-Sham that Russia is now pressing to have added to the international terror list.
That has meant that hostilities have continued and intensified in many areas, with the government able to claim its attacks are legitimate.
Now state forces are reported to be building up in Aleppo as violence escalates there, raising fears that a long and costly all-out battle for the contested city may be looming.
That would put paid both to the lull and to the Geneva peace talks, prompting Mr de Mistura to urge the US, Russians and others to press their clients on the ground to ease off, so that stalled negotiations have a chance of resuming.


Did India conceal its first cases of the Zika virus?

On Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) said India's health ministry had confirmed three cases of the mosquito-borne virus from the city of Ahmedabad in western Gujarat state.
Authorities in Gujarat said the cases were reported in a bustling neighbourhood between November 2016 and February 2017.
The infection has been linked to severe birth defects in almost 30 countries.
These include microcephaly, where babies are born with abnormally small heads and restricted brain development.
Although the virus is mostly spread by mosquitoes, it can also be sexually transmitted.
Even before the first official case of the Zika virus was registered in Nigeria, researchers concluded in a paper published in 1953 that "significant numbers" of people had been exposed to the virus in India. A total of 33 of the 196 people tested for the new disease had immunity.
More than 60 years later, the three cases in India detailed in a statement by the UN health agency included two women, aged 22 and 34, and a 64-year-old man.
The 34-year-old woman delivered a "clinically well baby" on 9 November 2016; the 22-year-old woman was tested positive for the virus in her 37th week of pregnancy. None of the three, according to reports, had travelled outside the country.
"The two pregnant mothers have delivered healthy babies and the 64-year-old senior citizen has shown no complications at all," JN Singh, the senior-most bureaucrat in Gujarat, told reporters at the weekend.
He also said the government "consciously did not go public with the cases" as the number of cases didn't rise.
But there has been shock and consternation among many independent public health professionals and analysts on why the public was not informed of the cases immediately after they were detected.
"This is unprecedented in India's public health history. It is also disturbing and raises a lot of ethical issues. You have to take the community into confidence. You can do it without spreading panic. That is the job of a sound public health policy," Rajib Dasgupta, a professor in the community medicine department at Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University, told me.
For one, critics say, on 17 March, junior health minister Anupriya Patel, responding to a question in the parliament said, that "so far, only one-case of laboratory-positive Zika virus has been detected as part of a routine laboratory surveillance in January 2017".
The government was lying, they said, because the third - and final - case had been detected in January.
A health official, however, defended the minister, saying "while two cases were picked up in January for testing and the third in February, only one confirmed case had been detected while [the minister was] replying to the parliament".
Nitpicking apart, many say it is surprising that the government decided to remain quiet for months about the first cases of a globally prevalent disease which is caused by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which also carries the dengue and chikungunya viruses, both widely prevalent in India.
They say it is surprising that the government, which gives regular public updates on dengue and chikungunya cases, decided to remain quiet about the Zika virus for months together.
This when India has, by all accounts, a fairly robust public health response protocol to tackling Zika.
A panel of top bureaucrats from different ministries regularly review the global situation on the virus. International airports and ports display information. Disease and vector control organisations help health officers monitor passenger arrivals at airports.
Since last year, 25 laboratories across the country have been beefed up for testing. Three entomological - study of insects - laboratories are conducting Zika virus testing on mosquito samples. Kits that test all the three pathogens - zika, dengue and chikungunya - simultaneously, developed and provided by the US-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are being used widely.
More than 34,000 human samples and 12,647 mosquito samples have been tested for Zika. Of these, close to 500 mosquito samples were collected from the Bapunagar area in Ahmedabad, where three of the positive cases were eventually found. Microcephaly is being monitored from 55 sentinel sites - communities from where in-depth data is gathered.
But when it came to the first cases, the government intriguingly kept it a secret from people, and even the local authorities, including the municipal commissioner and the mayor of the city.
Interestingly, a senior medical officer of the local municipality told the news and current affairs website scroll.in that the federal Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) had actually stepped up surveillance in the city in January and February as a part "of a national exercise to control malaria".
"There was no mention of Zika virus or cases to us," the official said.
A journalist from the website who visited the Bapunagar area where the cases had been detected reported that local people were angry that they were kept in the dark about the Zika virus. A local civic official, from the main opposition party Congress, wondered how could "the government not tell people that there is a new disease which is infecting people in the neighbourhood they live".
The government sticks to its position that it did not feel the need for a public announcement since there were no increase in the number of cases after surveillance was stepped up in the city.
But, as public health analysts say, local authorities should have been informed, so that they could have informed the local community and communicated it to the media. "Risk communication and mitigation are vital. It's a mosquito borne disease. There are no magic bullets for mosquito control," says Dr Dasgupta.
So why did the government delay the announcement? The local media has been reporting that the BJP-ruled government in Gujarat - Prime Minister Narendra Modi's native state - kept the news a secret because the state was hosting a major international business summit in January to woo investments. The local government, of course, denies this.
"This is an insult to the public health community and media. The local community needs to be informed [about the prevalence of the virus] to protect themselves, their women and children. Travel advisories need to be put out to alert foreign visitors," Vidya Krishnan, health and science editor with The Hindu newspaper told me.
"The implications of not disclosing or delaying such information are scary. If India begins to conceal its disease burden and disease outbreaks, things can easily snowball out of control. It will lose face internationally," she adds. Remember when China was accused of "covering up" the full extent of its Sars outbreak in 2003?
It was first identified in monkeys in Uganda in 1947.
The first human case was detected in Nigeria in 1954 and there have been further outbreaks in Africa, South East Asia and the Pacific Islands.
Most were small and Zika has not previously been considered a major threat to human health.
But in May 2015 it was reported in Brazil and since spread rapidly.
In November 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that Zika will no longer be treated as an international medical emergency. However, it said the virus still posed a "significant and enduring" threat.
Zika outbreak: What you need to know


Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has said he hopes the UK will "be as close as possible to" France after the vote to leave the European Union.

Speaking in French at a Paris press conference with his French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault he said the two would work together "as friends and allies".
The two discussed terrorism and Channel border controls at their talks.
Meanwhile Prime Minister Theresa May was in Slovakia for talks with Prime Minister Robert Fico.
Mr Johnson's visit to France on Thursday is his first official European bilateral meeting with Mr Ayrault, who has openly criticised the new foreign secretary.
The foreign secretary told the press conference: "I hope I have been clear that even if the UK has voted to leave the EU, it doesn't mean that we will be leaving Europe.
"We wish to be as close as possible to our allies, most particularly France, throughout the forthcoming years."
He thanked Mr Ayrault and said: "We have already started to develop a close and co-operative relationship and I hope it may continue while we face many challenges ahead together as friends and allies."
It came in a whisper from a Foreign Office official, minutes before Boris Johnson arrived to make his statement.
"He's going to do the whole thing in French."
That was probably the most noteworthy thing about the UK foreign secretary's first solo meeting with his French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault.
Parisian journalists and diplomats agreed that Mr Johnson's French sounded a bit school-boy at the beginning but had improved by the end.
The pair spoke to the press in the Salon de l'Horloge at the Foreign Ministry, the Quai D'Orsay. This was the room where French politicians made the Schuman Declaration, the idea that led to what would eventually become the European Union.
The UK's decision to leave that body was mentioned. Mr Johnson said that the two countries would maintain their strong relationship after Brexit; Mr Ayrault said negotiations should be conducted efficiently, professionally and fairly.
Neither man took questions from journalists so sadly I couldn't ask Mr Ayrault why he had recently called his guest a liar, or to find out whether Mr Johnson still thought the deal for a French company to build the new Hinkley Point nuclear plant was "an extraordinary amount of money".
He said the talks, two days after the murder of a priest by two men who pledged allegiance to so-called Islamic State in Normandy, had focused on terrorism and pledged "solidarity" with France.
Mr Ayrault, who was prime minister of France between 2012 and 2014, thanked Mr Johnson for his visit and said he was well known in France, both as a former mayor of London and for his biography of Winston Churchill.
He thanked Mr Johnson for his "solidarity and support" following the recent attacks in Nice and Rouen and said France would keep strengthening security and intelligence work with the UK.
On Brexit, he said France "respects" the vote of the British people adding: "Now the consequences will have to be drawn in terms of organisation, in a co-ordinated way, efficiently, professionally, sincerely and fairly."
Britain would need to define its negotiating position, he said.
France and Britain were united by "historic ties of friendship and co-operation" on issues like defence and migration.
And he said French and British officers and operators had been working "very hard "over the past few days to ensure "smooth crossing" at Dover - where motorists have been left queuing for up to 14 hours - over the holiday weekend, while respecting security measures.
Mr Ayrault has previously accused Mr Johnson, who led the campaign to get the UK out of the EU, of having "lied a lot" to the British public during the referendum campaign.
After meeting at an EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels earlier in July - Mr Johnson's first summit since taking up the post - Mr Ayrault said his British counterpart had arrived with "some humility".
Mr Johnson's remit does not specifically cover negotiations on Britain's exit from the EU, as Mrs May appointed a new post of Brexit secretary, taken up by David Davis.
The meetings for Mrs May are the latest in her diplomatic push ahead of formally triggering the two-year process of withdrawing from the EU - expected to begin early next year.
The prime minister has already met Italian PM Matteo Renzi, Irish PM Enda Kenny, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande.


Sebastian Coates has left Sunderland after the defender's loan deal at Sporting Lisbon was made permanent.

The 26-year-old joined the Portuguese side in January 2016 and has made 38 appearances for the club.
The Uruguay international arrived at Sunderland on a loan deal from Liverpool in 2014 before becoming Dick Advocaat's first signing as head coach the following year.
Coates made 32 appearances for the Black Cats during his time on Wearside.


Former South Africa captain Joost van der Westhuizen has died aged 45, six years after he was diagnosed with the debilitating motor neurone disease.

Van der Westhuizen won the World Cup with the Springboks in 1995.
Regarded as one of the finest scrum-halves in history, he won 89 international caps between 1993 and 2003, scoring 38 tries.
He captained the Springboks for four years, including at the 1999 World Cup, before his retirement in 2003.
Van der Westhuizen was admitted to hospital in Johannesburg on Saturday, when he was said to be in a "critical condition".
"Joost will be remembered as one of the greatest Springboks - not only of his generation, but of all time," said South Africa Rugby president Mark Alexander.
"He also became an inspiration and hero to many fellow sufferers of this terrible disease as well as to those unaffected.
"We all marvelled at his bravery, his fortitude and his uncomplaining acceptance of this terrible burden."
Van der Westhuizen made his Springboks debut the year after the team were readmitted to international rugby and was their record try-scorer until Bryan Habana surpassed him in 2011.
He will be best remembered for his major role in the Springboks lifting the World Cup on home soil, beating New Zealand in the final.
After winning the Tri-Nations Championship in 1998, he was named captain for the 1999 World Cup - at which South Africa finished third - before retiring after defeat by New Zealand in the quarter-finals of the 2003 tournament.
At the time of his retirement, his 89 Tests made him the most-capped South African of all time, though five players have since won more caps.
After being diagnosed with MND, a rare condition that progressively damages parts of the nervous system and impacts on important muscle activity such as walking, speaking and breathing, he set up the J9 Foundation, which provides support and care to people with the disease.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Wales interim coach Rob Howley said he was "devastated" by his fellow former scrum-half's death.
"He was a fantastic rugby player and for me was the best nine I played against," Howley said.
"He was a world-class nine who was respected throughout the rugby world.
"I have been fortunate enough to play against him and enjoy his company off the pitch and it is tragic he has passed so young."
England coach Eddie Jones, who coached against Van der Westhuizen during his time in Super Rugby, also paid his tribute.
"He was an absolutely outstanding player, a very good long-passer with a great kicking game, a terrific defender and a guy who really influenced the players," he told BBC Sport.
"Having coached against him when he played for the Bulls, they were a completely different team with him playing and he will be sorely missed.
"You had to be very tight around the ruck when you played against him because he was a great sniper. He was such a big guy who had good pace and was difficult to defend against.
"It is so sad to hear of his death. You feel for his family and supporters of South African rugby."
Former South Africa captain Jean de Villiers says Van der Westhuizen will be remembered as one of the best to play for the Springboks.
"What he achieved on the rugby field was unbelievable," he told BBC Radio 5 live.
De Villiers remembers Van der Westhuizen's tackle on New Zealand great Jonah Lomu, who died at the age of 40 in November 2015, in the 1995 World Cup final as an "iconic moment in the game".
"The sad thing is that neither of them are with us any more," he added.
"Joost's tackle on Jonah that day - a front on tackle on the guy that was destroying every team in the world. Here comes a scrum-half, someone who is not meant to put in tackles like that, and tackles him front on.
"The team as a whole got so much inspiration from him for doing that. For us as a country it became an iconic day and it changed the way that we were viewed forever."
De Villiers says Van der Westhuizen's contribution to raising awareness of motor neuron disease will be remembered as much as his rugby achievements.
"He never gave up," he said. "He gained so much respect in the latter part of his life, even though he was so successful on the rugby field as well."
Former South African captain Corne Krige added: "If you wanted an X factor in your team - he was that guy.
"He was the ultimate modern day scrum-half - first of the bigger scrum-halves in the world. It's tragic for his family and for his kids and for everyone involved."
Chris Jones, BBC Radio 5 live rugby reporter
Joost van der Westhuizen made an impact on the sport in two ways.
The first was as a magnificent scrum-half - one of the all-time greats - who won 89 caps and scored 38 tries and was the man who stopped Jonah Lomu in his tracks in the 1995 World Cup final, which the Springboks went on to win.
The other part was as a great inspiration - a man who gamely and bravely fought motor neurone disease for six years, who set up his foundation and inspired so many people along the way.
He was a great figure on and off the rugby field.
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Lionel Messi scored a sublime last-minute free-kick to salvage a point for Barcelona and deny Villarreal a famous win on Sunday.

Nicola Sansone fired the hosts ahead, a low angled finish after ex-Chelsea loan signing Alexandre Pato's threaded pass.
Messi hit a post and Barca were denied a penalty when Bruno handled a shot by the Argentina forward, before Messi's brilliant set-piece goal.
Barca stay third in the table and trail leaders Real Madrid by five points.
Villarreal, who remain fifth in La Liga, had full-back Jaume Costa sent off close to full-time after a second yellow card.
Despite Messi's late heroics, this was a damaging result for Barcelona, who have played one more game than Real, in their first league game after the winter break.
Luis Enrique is unlikely to remember his 150th game in charge of Barca for long, with his side sluggish for long periods.
Luis Suarez and Neymar wasted good chances, while the visitors were caught out at the back as Villarreal scored after a slick counter.
Barca were guilty of giving the ball away cheaply deep inside Villarreal's half before Pato's threaded pass found Sansone, who kept his composure to beat keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Suarez remains on 99 goals for Barca after a frustrating match in which he was presented with several chances to score the landmark goal.
Villarreal were getting ready to celebrate a first win in nine years against their opponents when Messi, who had been fouled by Bruno, found the top corner with an exquisite finish to rescue a point.
The result leaves Real Madrid, 5-0 winners over Granada on Saturday, with a clear advantage over their bitter rivals.
Match ends, Villarreal 1, Barcelona 1.
Second Half ends, Villarreal 1, Barcelona 1.
Second yellow card to Jaume Costa (Villarreal) for a bad foul.
Lionel Messi (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Jaume Costa (Villarreal).
Foul by Luis Suárez (Barcelona).
Sergio Asenjo (Villarreal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Denis Suárez (Barcelona).
Jaume Costa (Villarreal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner,  Villarreal. Conceded by Neymar.
Goal!  Villarreal 1, Barcelona 1. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) from a free kick with a left footed shot to the top left corner.
Lionel Messi (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Samu Castillejo (Villarreal).
Substitution, Villarreal. Álvaro González replaces Mateo Musacchio because of an injury.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match Mateo Musacchio (Villarreal) because of an injury.
Foul by Arda Turan (Barcelona).
Mateo Musacchio (Villarreal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Sergi Roberto (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Samu Castillejo (Villarreal).
Attempt missed. Arda Turan (Barcelona) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Neymar with a cross.
Substitution, Villarreal. Rodri replaces Roberto Soriano.
Gerard Piqué (Barcelona) is shown the yellow card.
Gerard Piqué (Barcelona).
(Villarreal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Neymar (Barcelona).
Roberto Soriano (Villarreal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner,  Barcelona. Conceded by Jaume Costa.
Sergio Busquets (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Roberto Soriano (Villarreal).
Nicola Sansone (Villarreal) is shown the yellow card.
Sergi Roberto (Barcelona) is shown the yellow card.
Foul by Denis Suárez (Barcelona).
Bruno (Villarreal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Sergi Roberto (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Samu Castillejo (Villarreal).
Substitution, Villarreal. Samu Castillejo replaces Alexandre Pato.
Attempt missed. Neymar (Barcelona) left footed shot from the centre of the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Arda Turan with a headed pass.
Attempt saved. Luis Suárez (Barcelona) left footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Lionel Messi.
Attempt blocked. Roberto Soriano (Villarreal) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Jonathan dos Santos.


A murderer who cut off his dying victim's ear and shouted "can you hear me now" has had his minimum jail term reduced by five years.

Derek Telford, 33, killed James Kerr, 34, over a drugs dispute, at the victim's flat in Glasgow in April 2012.
He was convicted at the High Court in Edinburgh in March 2013 and jailed for life with a minimum term of 25 years.
Telford's appeal against his conviction was rejected but appeal judges ruled his minimum jail term was "excessive".
A written judgement was issued at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh on Monday.
Lord Carloway, who heard the appeal with Lady Paton and Lord Bracadale, said in the judgement that Telford was guilty of a "particularly brutal murder in the deceased's own house, using weapons".
He said: "It was also aggravated by the steps taken to conceal the crime thereafter. Accordingly, a very significant punishment part, well in excess of the 16 years...was merited in order to meet the statutory requirements for retribution and deterrence.
"Nevertheless, this was a murder involving a single victim, who did not fit into any special category of vulnerability.
"In all the circumstances, the court does consider that the punishment part selected was excessive. It will quash the period of 25 years and substitute one of 20 years."
Following the trial in 2013, Telford's co-accused Lorraine Callaghan, 41, was cleared of murder.
Both were convicted of attempting to defeat the ends of justice by cleaning up blood and setting fire to Mr Kerr's body.
The murder charge against Callaghan was found not proven.
The court heard how Telford went to Mr Kerr's house in Glasgow's Knightswood area on 11 April 2012 apparently to buy drugs.
He is said to have attacked his victim after being told no drugs were in the house.
The court was told that Telford used a samurai sword, knives and a hammer to inflict 30 wounds on Mr Kerr during the attack.
Pathologists told the trial that Telford had continued to slash at Mr Kerr's face even after he was dead.
He and Callaghan then attempted to defeat the ends of justice by cleaning up blood before setting fire to a pile of the dead man's clothes and burning his body.
Telford also threw Mr Kerr's birth certificate into the flames before fleeing the scene.


Linfield secured a last-gasp 2-1 win over Ballymena United to remain five points behind league leaders Crusaders, who defeated Glenavon 3-1 at Seaview.

Mark Stafford stooped low to head in Aaron Burn's cross in stoppage time.
Third-placed Cliftonville triumphed 3-0 at Carrick Rangers, Portadown beat Dungannon Swifts 2-0 and Ballinamallard United saw off Glentoran 2-1.
New boss Colin Nixon led Ards to a 1-1 draw at Coleraine  on a day when five players were sent-off in the league.
Re-live all the action from Saturday's Premiership action as it happened
Linfield had the better of the first half at Windsor Park, with Andrew Waterworth squandering the best chance when he sidefooted the ball over from six yards out.
Jimmy Callacher's backward header from a long Ross Gaynor free-kick gave the hosts a 50th-minute lead but Tony Kane levelled with his 11th consecutive successful penalty conversion in the 87th minute after Niall Quinn was adjudged to have handled inside the area.
Stafford's late intervention sealed the win for Linfield and made it a disappointing return to Windsor Park for Sky Blues manager David Jeffrey.
Crusaders took immediate control of their game when Declan Caddell had the simple task of slotting home on five minutes after Gavin Whyte squared the ball to the midfielder.
Glenavon goalkeeper Johnny Tuffey distinguished himself with a series of fine saves to prevent the hosts extending their lead and Mark Patton brought the visitors level in the first minute of the second half.
Gavin Whyte took advantage of a poor Tuffey clearance to fire into the net from seven yards on 58 minutes and Jordan Owens hammered home the champions' third after 79.
David McDaid ran onto a Tomas Cosgrove pass to give Cliftonville a second-minute lead at Taylor's Avenue, then Stephen Garrett fired in from close range for his eighth of the season in the 27th minute.
Striker Garrett netted his second from the penalty spot on 78 after his team-mate Daniel Hughes had been sent-off for an altercation with Carrick goalkeeper Brian Neeson.
Basement side Portadown move onto positive points for the first time this season courtesy of their victory over Dungannon, in a game which saw both sides reduced to 10 men in quick succession.
Stephen Hughes and Andy Mitchell went close for their respective sides, before Mark McAllister, restored to the squad under new manager Niall Currie, scored the opener on 37, finding the net from a rebound after Hughes had hit the post.
Swifts defender Chris Hegarty was sent-off for a foul on Aaron Haire on 65 minutes, his second yellow card offence, and Keith O'Hara followed him to the dressing rooms seven minutes later, having also been booked twice.
Hughes fired the winner low into the net in the 74th minute for the first win of Currie's tenure in charge of the mid-Ulster club.
Ards took the lead against Coleraine through David McAllister in the 39th minute after Chris Johns had saved his initial close-range effort, but Brad Lyons restored parity when he headed in from a Neil McCafferty corner six minutes after the break.
Visiting defender Johnny Taylor was dismissed in injury-time after being shown a second yellow card for a show of dissent.
Ballinamallard earned a morale-boosting triumph over Glentoran, who had Stephen Gordon sent-off by referee Raymond Crangle on the stroke of half-time for his part in a scuffle.
Ryan Mayse fired into the bottom corner five minutes after the interval and striker Joshua McIlwaine smashed into the top corner to double his side's lead soon after.
The Glens pulled one back through Jay Magee's goal in the final minute but the result made it two defeats from two games for Gary Haveron's East Belfast charges.


Joseph Kabila campaigned for his second term in office as leader of the Democratic Republic of Congo with the slogan "for a united Congo".

But his victory, with 49% of the vote, underlies the tensions in the vast and chaotic country.
At 40, he is nearly half the age of his main rival Etienne Tshisekedi, who took 32% of the vote mainly in the west of country.
President Kabila enjoys most of his support in the east, where he was born in a rebel camp in the mountain forests where his father was leading the struggle against former strongman Mobutu Sese Seko.
He was a low-profile military commander when his father Laurent-Desire Kabila was assassinated in 2001, and was handpicked by the presidential inner circle to lead DR Congo as it was being torn apart by half a dozen warring armies.
Many opposition activists accused him, without proof, of being a national of neighbouring Rwanda, which had twice invaded its much larger neighbour.
Mr Kabila spent his childhood in Tanzania and spoke better kiSwahili and English than the languages most spoken in Kinshasa - French and Lingala, which he had to learn on the job.
Winning DR Congo's first democratic elections in more than 40 years at the tender age of 35 gave him the legitimacy to stamp his authority on the country and move out of his father's shadow.
But he tends to keep a low profile, shying away from public speaking.
"Kabila is not shy, he is reserved. This is part of his Swahili cultural background," said his one-time personal secretary, Kikaya Bin Karubi, who is now DR Congo's ambassador in the UK.
This reservation is in sharp contrast to the usual Congolese effusiveness.
His smiling face, however, has been seen all over the country in the last few weeks, beaming down from huge advertising hoardings.
His campaign has been built around what he has called the "five building sites of the republic": Infrastructure; health and education; water and electricity; housing and employment.
Eight years after the end of the war, many Congolese complain that the pace of social development is too slow.
His power base of eastern DR Congo bore the brunt of the fighting during the civil war, which drew in other countries including Uganda and Rwanda.
Rebels and militias still roam the area despite attempts by the UN and army to disarm them, earning money from the area's rich mineral wealth.
The army itself has been accused of human rights abuses and profiteering.
DR Congo holds more than half of the world's cobalt, 30% of all diamonds, 70% of coltan - a vital ingredient in mobile phones - as well as huge deposits of gold, copper and various other minerals.
However, this year's UN human development index placed DR Congo bottom of the 187 countries surveyed.
The president has acknowledged the shortcomings, saying on the campaign trial that he had a debt to settle with Congolese voters, so they should give him another term to let him repay it.
According to Mr Bin Karubi, Mr Kabila often relaxes at weekends on his farm on the outskirts of Kinshasa, where he enjoys motorcross.
Just before the 2006 elections, Mr Kabila married his long-time girlfriend Olive Lembe di Sita. The couple have a daughter, Sifa born in 2001, and a son, Laurent-Desire, named after Mr Kabila's mother and father respectively.
His schoolmates at the Zanaji secondary school in Dar es Salaam nicknamed him "War bus" because of his enjoyment of war films and martial arts.
Still, they were all surprised when they saw the first pictures of him and his father fighting a real war, which ended when they seized power in DR Congo (then Zaire) and overthrew Mobutu in May 1997.
Correspondents say in order to avoid the attentions of Mobutu's intelligence service, he grew up in Tanzania pretending to be a member of the country's Fipa ethnic group.
"We didn't even know he was Congolese," recalls one of his contemporaries, who did not want to be named.
With his father installed as DR Congo's leader, Joseph Kabila was sent to China for military training and became army chief of staff before inheriting the presidency.
His experience as a general in the Congolese army helps him to keep direct control over an estimated 7,000-strong army unit known as the Republican Guard.
The five-year civil war led to shady business deals to mine its rich resources, but Mr Kabila has not been directly implicated in any.
The same cannot be said of "the Kabila boys", his close circle of advisers.
One of them, Katumba Mwanke, a minister at the presidency, was forced to resign because of accusations in a 2002 United Nations report that he was profiteering from the war through deals made with Zimbabwean officials.
With a second term in office, Mr Kabila has an opportunity to capitalise on cleaning up the mining sector.
He will also be keen to see the departure of the 19-000 strong UN mission in DR Congo, Monusco, within the next five years.
But his biggest challenge will be keeping a lid on the violence, with opposition supporters crying foul over the election results about allegations of vote-rigging.


A 23-year-old man has denied murdering his girlfriend in Cardiff.

Jordan Matthews was charged with murder after the death of 24-year-old Xixi Bi at a property in Ely Road, Llandaff, on 19 August.
Ms Bi grew up in Nanjing, China, and came to Oxford to study as a teenager. She later went to Cardiff University.
Mr Matthews, of Llandaff, entered his plea via video link at Cardiff Crown Court on Thursday and his trial is due to begin on 6 February.
He was remanded in custody.


A new £10m library and community space has opened in north-west London.

The Library at Willesden Green in Brent boasts 40,000 books, an art gallery, exhibition area and performance space.
Developers Linden Homes re-built the 1980s part of the library, which was deemed "inefficient", while incorporating elements from its Victorian heritage.
The council funded the library by working with developers and selling adjacent land for new homes.
In 2011 Brent Council was taken to the High Court by local campaigners over its decision to close six of the borough's libraries in a bid to cut council spending and help it save £104m.
Winning its legal battle the authority closed libraries in Kensal Rise, Barham Park, Tokyngton, Preston, Cricklewood and Neasden.


NI's Police Ombudsman is to resume investigations into more than 150 historical events where former RUC officers are accused of criminal activity and misconduct.

Investigations were suspended in 2011 after a critical report into the running of the office.
The report found that the independence of the office had been compromised.
Many of the cases involve allegations of security force collusion.
At the time the ombudsman was Al Hutchinson.
The critical report into his office was carried out by the then criminal justice inspector, Michael Maguire, who replaced Mr Hutchinson as police ombudsman in July 2012.
The report said there had been a lowering of operational independence between the ombudsman and the police, and that investigations into historical events should be suspended.
The criticism contributed to the early retirement of Mr Hutchinson.
A follow-up inspection report published on Wednesday concluded that enough improvements have been made for historical investigations to resume.
Dr Maguire said his previous role had given him an "understanding of the issues that needed to be addressed".
"The office has worked very hard over the last year to put some of those issues in a way which repositions the office to be able to recommence these investigations again," he said.
"I welcome the CJI (Criminal Justice Inspection) report because I think it's the first stage in rebuilding confidence in the office and the work that it does."
He said work had been done to make improvements across a range of areas.
"We've recruited a significant number of new staff who have direct experience in major investigations, changed the ways we prioritise cases, introduced thorough investigative process which are subject to ongoing and systemic review and we've developed a consistent approach to communication for the families," he said.
The ombudsman's office has been given Â£12m to complete more than 150 historical cases over the next six years.
Dr Maguire admitted that the number of cases to examine was "ambitious".
"At the beginning of exercise we will be doing a lot of review work which collects investigative material," he said.
"Many of those cases, in some cases 20 or 30 complaints, can be clustered around a particular core issue and be dealt with on an ongoing basis.
"I think given those two reasons we're in a much better place to be able to look at these cases in a shorter time frame than has been before."
However, the DUP's Paul Givan raised concerns about the re-opening of historical investigations.
He said it had "the potential to once again damage confidence in the ombudsman's office".
"The DUP has consistently argued the police ombudsman should solely focus upon dealing with present day complaints into the PSNI and de-couple it from historical investigations which has marred this office in controversy from its inception," he said.
"As a result of this decision the ombudsman office will become the subject of intense political scrutiny and debate that will only serve to distract from the important oversight role it has for effectively dealing with modern day policing issues. "


St Helens have signed winger Jack Owens on a two-year-deal following his release by Super League rivals Widnes.

Owens, 21, scored nine tries in 18 games for the Vikings last season but was allowed to depart by head coach Denis Betts.
He crossed for 30 scores in 87 games during five years as a professional at Widnes, and is also a kicker with 122 goals to his name.
"Jack is an experienced player," Saints coach Keiron Cunningham said.
"He plays in a number of positions and will add depth to our squad for 2016.
"He has a good attitude and is keen to learn and develop."


Few sportsmen have got close to matching Sonny Bill Williams' achievements; a double World Cup winner with the All Blacks, a Super Rugby champion with the Chiefs, NRL titles with the Roosters, not to mention success on the World Sevens circuit, an Olympics appearance, and a New Zealand heavyweight boxing belt in his spare time.

But as he plots to add a Test victory over the Lions to his unparalleled CV, Williams remains "humble as hell and one of the bros," according to his team-mates.
On Wednesday, Williams lines up for the Blues against the British and Irish Lions, as the Auckland-based franchise look to launch a pre-emptive strike before the Test series.
For Williams, a devout Muslim, the game comes in the middle of Ramadan, with the 31-year-old fasting for up to 10 hours a day.
"We're lucky that we only fast for nine to 10 hours in this part of the world because of the daylight," says the 33-times capped All Black.
"I find the fasting easiest with footy-based training, and I just push back the weights until I break the fast. The first week of fasting is the toughest and then after that you start to get used to it."
Speaking to Williams and a number of his team-mates and friends, it is clear his religion underpins his character.
The New Zealand Rugby Union recently allowed a "conscientious objection" to Williams wearing certain sponsors logos, as he objects to the marketing of banks, alcohol and gambling companies because of his beliefs.
"He's really religious and he sticks by it. We support him wholeheartedly, and his choices off the field," says Blues number eight Steven Luatua, who is on his way to Bristol next season.
"The way he stands up for his convictions and what he believes in, a lot of us could learn from that, and a lot of us feed off him.
"I do believe religion really helps with the rigour and discipline of succeeding in sport. For a lot of us from religious backgrounds, we've got to this point because of our faith, because of our beliefs.
"So for him to display that on an international stage, to display who he is, not change for anyone, I think that's all credit to him."
Williams' dedication and commitment to his craft - whatever it may be - is a recurring theme, but his faith enables him to keep a balanced perspective on life, according to Blues wing Matt Duffie.
"At times rugby players can get quite caught up in the rugby fishbowl," says Duffie. "But his experience, faith and family means he can keep things in perspective. That doesn't take away the fact he is out there trying to win everything, because he's very competitive, but [keeping perspective] is one of his great qualities."
However, Williams remains the ultimate competitor, and after his Rio Olympics Sevens experience ended in long-term injury, he is on his way back to top form and fitness, and in the frame to start in the centres against the Lions come the Test series.
"The one-percenters are eye-opening," says Blues full-back Michael Collins. "The way he looks after his body and does his prep and his homework, he's pretty diligent in all he does."
"Off the field he's real professional and the boys feed off that," says Luatua. "At the same time he's approachable and easy to talk to, and I think that's made his transitions between clubs and sports real easy. All round he's just a good dude."
His head coach Tana Umaga will testify to that, after Williams moved to defuse news conference talk of the infamous spear tackle that ended Brian O'Driscoll's tour the last time the Lions were in New Zealand in 2005. But, as prop Charlie Faumuina, explains, Williams has a mischievous side.
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"He's a bit of a trouble maker," Faumuina says.
"We've got a thing where if you lose things they get auctioned off, but Sonny Bill tries to steal things to get them auctioned off. I lost my tickets that I got handed to me just today, and I've had to pay 100 bucks to get them back. He must have handed them in to the auctioneer. I just left them there to get a drink of water and I came back and they were gone."
Faumuina is one of eight New Zealand internationals in the Blues starting XV on Wednesday evening, but all eyes will be on Williams. It's something his team-mates are used to, but don't begrudge.
"Around here it's all about Sonny," adds another of the All Blacks, scrum-half Augustine Pulu.
"But he's a good man, bro. I think that's why it's so easy. He's just a caring person."


A learner driver fell foul of the law when an eagle-eyed police officer spotted a tree being driven along the streets of a Hertfordshire town.

The man's van was just about recognisable beneath the branches as it travelled through Hatfield on Tuesday afternoon.
Not only was it "dangerous", but police said the driver only had a provisional licence and was alone and unsupervised.
People took to social media asking if "special branch" had been involved.
"Overweight, in a dangerous condition and not right licence? We will take it off you," Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Road Policing officers wrote on Twitter.
More weighty news from Hertfordshire
The picture of the van - with parts of the felled tree sticking out of the rear and completely covering the top - prompted a flurry of jokes on social media.
"We guess the driver's idea to camouflage their vehicle didn't quite work because you spotted them," police from Nottingham quipped.
"Is that van undercover?" another wrote.
The vehicle was seized on Comet Way, and the driver was reported for driving other than in accordance with a licence, and having an overweight and dangerous load.
"We expect him to receive points and a fine, dependent on his previous," an officer said.
"He would be fine to have driven this vehicle had he had L-plates and a supervising driver... if it wasn't overweight and dangerous."
The van driver could face "a variety of possible penalties and it may result in a court appearance", he added.


US journalist Amy Goodman is facing charges of participating in a "riot" after filming Native American-led protests over an oil pipeline in North Dakota.

The Democracy Now! reporter said she would surrender to authorities on Monday in response to the charge.
District Judge John Grinsteiner will decide whether there is sufficient evidence to support the riot charge.
Ms Goodman filmed the crackdown on protesters by authorities last month.
"I wasn't trespassing, I wasn't engaging in a riot, I was doing my job as a journalist by covering a violent attack on Native American protesters," Ms Goodman said.
The charge relates to her Democracy Now! coverage of the protests against the Dakota Access pipeline on 3 September.
Earlier this month US actress Shailene Woodley was arrested at a construction site for broadcasting the North Dakota protests on Facebook.
The video by the Divergent star was viewed more than 2.4 million times on social media within hours of being posted.
The Dakota Access oil pipeline project, which will cross four states, has drawn huge protests.
Native Americans have halted its construction in North Dakota, saying it will desecrate sacred land and damage the environment.


A man arrested over the murder of Edward Gibson in west Belfast last October has been released unconditionally.

Mr Gibson, 28, was shot in his stomach and thigh in an alley near Divis Tower on 24 October. He died in hospital.
The 61-year-old man was arrested in west Belfast on Thursday morning.
A number of people have already been charged as part of the overall investigation.


David Cameron is to take personal charge of an immigration taskforce which has been set up to oversee delivery of policy pledges.

Part of its remit will be to deliver on the Conservatives' promise to reduce net migration to "tens of thousands".
In all, 10 taskforces are being created which will be chaired by ministers and track policy implementation progress.
The move echoes Tony Blair's No 10 "Delivery Unit", which was abolished by the coalition government in 2010.
The immigration taskforce's remit includes reducing net migration to the UK from hundreds of thousands to the tens of thousands - a pledge that was not met in the last Parliament.
In May, the prime minister vowed that he would not give up on his aim, despite net migration rising by 50% to 318,000 last year - its highest level for a decade.
The group's terms of reference also include controlling migration from the European Union, by reforming welfare rules and "reducing reliance on migrant labour", among other measures.
These are central to Mr Cameron's renegotiation with European leaders ahead of the planned in/out referendum on the EU, which is to be held by 2017.
Membership of the taskforce includes senior cabinet members, among them Home Secretary Theresa May and Chancellor George Osborne.
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Oliver Letwin, the government's policy tsar, will also be a member. He will also chair the cabinet committee on home affairs.
Taskforces have also been set up to oversee progress in the following areas: troubled families, exports, digital infrastructure, health and social care, "earn or learn" and foreign fighters returning to the UK from Syria and Iraq.
In addition, the PM will also take the lead on the cabinet committee on Europe, which is aimed specifically at considering issues related to the EU referendum.
Membership includes senior ministers Mr Osborne, Mrs May and Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond.
A separate cabinet committee chaired by Mr Hammond will consider other issues related to the EU.
In all, there will be 14 committees, including the national security committee and its sub committees - all of which will be steered by Mr Cameron.
Each will report to the cabinet and the prime minister on specific policy areas and decisions made.


People in parts of Shropshire have been hit by flooding as snow across the county begins to thaw.

The county's fire service said crews had been pumping water out of homes in Market Drayton and one near Whitchurch.
Diksmuide Drive in Ellesmere has also been flooded and a farmer had to rescue a flock of sheep stuck in flood water in Oswestry, the fire service said.
Dave Throup from the Environment Agency tweeted that flood barriers were due to go up in Frankswell on Monday.
The agency has issued a number of warnings for rivers in the county including the Vyrnwy at Melverley and Maesbrook.
Battlefield Link Road in Shrewsbury and the A41 at Bletchley near Market Drayton have been closed due to flooding.
Mary Dhonau, from the Flood Protection Association, said the ground is already water-logged and recent flood victims must accept it may happen again.
She said: "It's just awful and my heart goes out to the people that are at risk of flooding, having been flooded myself.
"I cannot emphasise how horrible it is to have your home violated by filthy, foul smelling water."
The Environment Agency has published a live floods map.


A driver has died in a three-car crash that shut the anti-clockwise M25 in Hertfordshire for more than 12 hours.

The collision happened at about 23:35 BST on Sunday between J23 for South Mimms and J22 for London Colney.
A BMW car left the carriageway and overturned, killing a man in his 40s who was the only occupant of the vehicle, police said.
The driver of a Peugeot 206, in her 30s, and the driver of an MG TF, in her 40s, both suffered slight injuries.
The road was closed for forensic examination of the crash site, emergency repairs and removal of the vehicles, police said.
PC Bruce Lister said: "Our thoughts are with the man's family at this extremely difficult time and a family liaison officer is currently supporting them.
"We would like to hear from anyone who witnessed the collision or the events leading up to it, or who saw the vehicles prior to the incident.
"A number of people also now have dash-cams installed in their vehicles and if anyone caught any part of the incident on film I would ask them to contact me as soon as possible."


A man whose kayak was attacked by a saltwater crocodile has been rescued from an island in Australia.

The unnamed man was left stranded on Townshend Island, off the coast of Queensland, for three days after the crocodile sank its teeth into his boat.
He told authorities he fended off the animal before paddling to the island, where he stayed for three days.
He was rescued by helicopter on 6 August after activating a locator beacon.
"He was very fortunate," a spokeswoman for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority told AFP.
"It didn't pierce the kayak. He said he was running on adrenaline [to get to the island]."
The man was prevented from leaving the island by bad weather and a low tide. He activated his rescue beacon after running out of provisions.
Saltwater crocodiles are the world's largest living reptiles. They have become more common in Australia since becoming a protected species in 1971.
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The stock market rally that followed Donald Trump's surprise presidential victory helped Goldman Sachs profits to soar in the three months to December.

The US investment bank posted net profit of $2.15bn in the fourth quarter, up from $574m for the same period in 2015, when it was hit by a $5bn legal settlement.
Fourth-quarter net revenues were $900m higher at $8.17bn.
Fixed-income securities, currencies and commodities revenue jumped 78% to $2bn.
For the full year, Goldman reported a 9% fall in net revenues to $30.6bn and a 22% jump in net profit to $7.4bn.
Chief executive Lloyd Blankfein said: "After a challenging first half, the firm performed well for the remainder of the year as the operating environment improved."
Citigroup also benefitted from the Trump rally, reporting a better-than-expected $230m rise in quarterly profit to $3.57bn.
Adjusted revenue fell 9% to $17bn in the wake of disposals, but for ongoing businesses the figure was up 6% to $16.3bn.
Michael Corbat, chief executive of Citi, said; "We had a strong finish to 2016, bringing momentum into this year. We drove revenue growth in our businesses and demonstrated strong expense discipline across the firm."
The bank's revenue from fixed-income trading rose about 36% - far lower than the 173% rise reported on Tuesday by Morgan Stanley - Goldman's closest rival - for the three months to December.
While Goldman relies on trading more than its competitors, it has been trying to switch to more stable markets such as investment management.
Goldman has also made a push into US consumer lending, launching an online platform called Marcus late last year.
Operating expenses fell 23% to $4.77bn for the fourth quarter, while the figure for the full year slid 18.9% to $20.3bn - the lowest since 2008.
Investment banking revenue, which includes income from advising on mergers and acquisitions as well as underwriting bond and share offerings, fell 3.9% to $1.49bn.
The bank maintained its position as the world's top mergers and acquisitions adviser last year with a 35.9% market share of completed deals, according to Thomson Reuters figures, ahead of Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase.
Goldman shares were up slightly in pre-market trading and have gained close to a third since the presidential election.