A £900 million package to insulate people’s lofts, give sub-standard homes new bathrooms and kitchens and repair crumbling council homes was announced by the Chancellor yesterday.

Extra help was also offered to those at risk of losing their homes by bringing forward a £200 million mortgage rescue scheme.

But housing organisations and private developers were disappointed that Alistair Darling failed to pledge a multibillion-pound programme of social housing to help the four million on council house waiting lists.

Instead, Mr Darling’s cash was aimed primarily at getting the construction and building industry back to work with hundreds of smaller and medium-sized projects.

First he pledged an extra £100 million to help tens of thousands of families to insulate their homes. Another £50 million was brought forward from future spending to help 60,000 households to cut their fuel bills.

Mr Darling gave warning that, unless energy companies closed gaps between prices paid by customers on different payment schemes, the Government would intervene.

The Chancellor also announced that £250 million would be brought forward from 2010-11 to help to complete the Decent Homes initiative that started when Labour came to power. More than a million homes have already been given new kitchens, boilers and bathrooms under the scheme since 1997. The new money will help a further 25,000.

About £175 million is also to be brought forward to reduce a £2 billion backlog of repair and refurbishment for council homes that has built up over ten years.

But housing organisations were disappointed by the small amount being allocated for new social housing.

Only £150 million extra was announced in addition to £400 million allocated earlier this year. In total, about 7,500 homes could be built with the money brought forward from 2010-11, but this will do little to address a critical housing shortage.

Stewart Baseley, the executive chairman of the House Builders Federation, said: “The housing market is absolutely critical to the wider economy and we have been saying for months now that urgent action to assist it is required. Unfortunately, the Chancellor does not seem to have drawn the same conclusion and today’s measures will do little to boost a depressed market.”

David Orr, the chief executive of the National Housing Federation, welcomed the money for new social housing but gave warning that housing assocations needed extra help or they would not be able to build new homes next year.

The £200 million mortgage rescue package announced in September will now be brought forward from the new year to December. This is intended to help at least 6,000 people in financial difficulties to stay in their homes rather than face repossession.

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