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He said: "There is a gap between the ODPM and the Treasury's Barker review. The Barker review is about changing the relationship in government between different agencies to get more efficient working, whereas the Communities Plan is essentially about staying as it is."

The Barker review was announced by chancellor Gordon Brown last month to look at why the housing market isn't flexible enough to supply the country's housing needs.

He said that, although many of the policies of the Communities Plan were laudable, it failed to address the relationship between housing and the economy. He said a lack of investment in infrastructure had led to housing money being spent poorly – leading to market failure.

Maclennan told Housing Today after the conference: "The problem with the Communities Plan is that it doesn't address the issue of productivity. You have to look at why development takes place – for which you've got to look at things like railway lines."

Roy Irwin, chief inspector at the Audit Commission, acknowledged the gap between the Treasury and the ODPM, but said the distance was diminishing: "What you've got is the ODPM upping their game at an operational level, with the Treasury taking a more strategic look at things.

"They're not in tune but at least they're looking in the same direction – actually it turns out they're closer than they have been for some time."

A spokeswoman for the ODPM said: "There's much more to the Communities Plan than housing – it's about communities, creating places people want to live. These issues are being addressed."