A leading economic thinktank has criticised John Healey's first budget as chancellor, describing it as a "scattergun" package that did little to lift living standards and leaves Britain facing "a painful second half" of the parliament.

In its analysis published on Thursday, the Resolution Foundation said the measures meant to ease gas and electricity costs would still leave household energy bills higher this year than they were during the previous energy price shock. The thinktank was sharply critical of the chancellor's attempt to give the public "breathing space" as prices rise, a trend made worse by the Iran war.

The foundation argued that the support was poorly targeted. By its calculations, the poorest half of households will gain an average of £158 across this year and next, only £14 more than the £144 going to the richest half. Ruth Curtice, the foundation's chief executive, said this showed "a complete failure to target help at those who need it most".

The budget includes the scrapping of standing charges on gas bills and energy payments of £100 for up to 20m households in council tax bands A to D. The foundation said Healey was the latest chancellor to oversee an energy discount scheme with weak targeting, one that has left the UK relying on 35-year-old property valuations to decide who qualifies for help with energy bills this winter.

Looking further ahead, the foundation forecast that typical disposable incomes will fall by £1,050 between now and the end of the parliamentary term in 2028-29. That would limit the growth in incomes over the whole five-year parliament to just £600.

Curtice said the chancellor had faced a tough backdrop of global economic turmoil but had delivered a budget that did little to address the sharp challenges facing the country. "Cost of living support is being spread far too thinly and will leave even those families receiving help facing higher energy bills than they did during the last energy price shock," Curtice said.

Curtice described the parliament as increasingly one of two halves. The first, the thinktank chief said, brought rising living standards, solid growth and extra public service funding paid for by large tax rises, yet none of that prevented dramatic half-time substitutions in Downing Street. The new occupants, Curtice added, may hope for better political fortune, but a projected £1,000 fall in disposable incomes could make the second half tough going. "A more dramatic change of tactics may be needed," Curtice said, adding that the budget did not reveal how the government will choose between public service ambitions and household incomes, and that next year the choices will become starker.

Healey had said the UK was being battered by a global economic storm, noting that the Office for Budget Responsibility, the budget watchdog, had slashed its forecast for gross domestic product growth next year. The chancellor pledged to steer the country through the turbulence, chart a new course for Britain and "give people fresh hope for Britain's future", while also setting out plans to "rewire the economy" for growth. The budget further included tax breaks for high street businesses and higher taxes on banks and gambling.

Defending the package, Andy Burnham told broadcasters it was "pretty bold to help 20m households with energy costs through the council tax cut this winter". Burnham added that lifting 70,000 businesses out of business rates altogether would give "a real lift to high streets up and down the country".