Grant Shapps, Housing Minister:
"Social tenants know when things are going wrong with their neighbourhoods. They should be able to expect local solutions to local problems, and not have to wait for a remote organisation from Whitehall to take over.
"I want as many tenants as possible to sit on tenant panels, so they have control over their own homes and their own lives and can use their local knowledge to improve their area.
"But I don't want them to feel isolated and unsupported - I want them to have the training and help they need to really make a difference."
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Richard Diment, Director General of the Federation of Master Builders:
"The Government has the power to put money back in the hands of homeowners and landlords by allowing a reduced rate of VAT on all home repair, maintenance and improvement work.
"Research commissioned last year by the Cut the VAT Coalition shows a cut in VAT to 5% on this type of work has the potential to create tens of thousands of jobs over the next decade."
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Chris Huhne, Energy and Climate Change Secretary:
"At a time when money is tight and with energy prices predicted to rise, householders are missing out on over £100 of savings every single year by not getting their lofts lagged and cavity walls filled.
"We are making energy companies do more to help their hard pressed customers, with another 3.5 million households set to be protected against higher bills by the end of next year."
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Sarah Webb, Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing:
"Whilst people in all parts of the housing sector are working hard to try to provide new homes in all tenures, it is an uphill struggle.
"The new homes bonus is set to make a small difference and planning reforms will also help, but the time has come for more than incremental measures.
"We need much more focus on housing in economic policy, and we need politicians and practitioners to work together to find new ways to promote affordability, secure sufficient investment, and face up to the demographic timebomb."
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Heather Petch OBE, Director of HACT:
"What we are increasingly finding is that social housing providers, in their many different forms, are often the strongest voluntary, charitable or third sector groups in many of Britain's most deprived communities.
"In the current climate, more than ever, they need to think carefully about how they can support the resources of others who may be taking a bigger hit than they are."
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Phillip Blond, Director of ResPublica:
"Welfarism doesn't help the poor."
"If we can't build social networks we are recreating caste, where people are of different type and which shuts the poor out of jobs."