Countryside minister Elliot Morley today promised to seek quicker payouts to councils to meet the cost of dealing with the Sussex floods.

He made the pledge during a Commons debate on the floods and also announced £800,000 to start the Chichester flood relief scheme.

Councils can claim financial aid to deal with natural disasters. Damaged historic properties in Lewes could receive cash for repairs from English Heritage.

But Mr Morley rejected a plea from Lewes Lib Dem MP Norman Baker for funds to help poor people, particularly the elderly, whose homes or belongings were uninsured.

Mr Morley said the Government could not provide compensation for items which could be insured.

Mr Baker said businesses in Lewes were losing up to £3million a day between them because of the floods. Some firms had already lost more than £1 million.

Mr Morley said he would press the Inland Revenue to relax deadlines for VAT and tax returns for flood victims. Lewes Council has already announced a business rate "holiday" to ease the burden on firms.

Mr Baker said the Government had been repeatedly warned about inadequate flood defences in Sussex, with the Environment Agency saying another £4 million a year was needed.

He said some flood victims could be homeless for six months.

Chichester Tory MP Andrew Tyrie said it was a case of "when not if" the town would suffer a similar fate to Lewes unless flood defences were improved.

Bexhill and Battle Tory MP Charles Wardle warned of the devastating effect of the flood on local communities in his constituency, particularly Robertsbridge, where 100 properties were deluged by 3ft of water.

He said: "Parked cars were ruined, business premises were engulfed and homes contaminated by dark slime and sludge the flood waters left behind as they receded."

Wealden Tory MP Geoffrey Johnson Smith echoed the call for compensation, warning of the huge damage inflicted on farmers and small businesses, some of whom had lost their stock for the second time in a matter of months.

His own garden had looked like a "lake" even though it was 200ft above sea level because the storm had been preceded by two or three weeks of heavy rain.

Sir Geoffrey also questioned plans for more than 33,000 houses to be built in East Sussex by the year 2016. Some, he said, would be destined to be flooded.