A new storm blasted the county this week. Jonas is the latest name in what is becoming a roll-call of damage and distress.

Torrential rain and fierce gales washed more misery into the lives of Cumbrians.

Flooding returned, bringing anxiety to many who were steadily getting their homes, businesses and lives back in order.

Ironically, the weather halted work on repairing the A591 which storm Desmond dismantled in December.

Work on restoring one of the county’s most critical roadways has resumed, with funding coming from the government.

But there are fears that the government will not provide Cumbria with the money it needs to recover from Storm Desmond.

It is estimated that the county is facing a staggering bill of £500 million to reinstate roads and bridges and repair schools.

So far, the county has received £2 million to pay for damage inspection and estimation costs and £35m of a £40m emergency fund for repairs shared with Lancashire.

That package was announced on December 19. Since then, there has been little word about any more money to help rebuild the swamped and shattered roads, bridges and schools in the county.

Prime Minister David Cameron has said his government will contribute under the Belwin scheme – a complex process by which it compensates an authority for 75 per cent of repair costs over a certain threshold.

In the House of Lords last week, Lord Liddle asked whether the government will pay the full costs of recovery.

The Labour peer, who is also a county councillor for Wigton, said: “In terms of transport infrastructure, these are estimated to be £257 million in Cumbria alone— £465 million when you count everything — and £40 million is not much by comparison with that.”

Government minister Baroness Williams of Trafford, answered that the Government was committed to spending £2.3 billion on flood defences over the next five years.

But Lord Liddle says that money is for future protection, not for repairs and restructuring that is needed now.

He has now written a letter to the baroness and to Floods minister and Penrith and the Border MP Rory Stewart demanding a decision on funding.

In it, he says: “Your responses to my question raised anxieties on my own part, which I think are widely shared in the County.

“You made no clear commitment to go beyond the £40m (£35m for Cumbria) in terms of central government contribution to repair of damaged infrastructure.”

He also urges the government and Cumbria to make an agreed assessment of the costs of recovery “with all speed”.

Floods minister and Penrith and the Border MP Rory Stewart has offered no clearer indication how much money for repairs and rebuilding will be available, or when.

He said: “The central government is covering the flood damage through the Belwin formula.

“This reimburses the council for its costs. So far we have advanced £50 million for immediate payments, and made another £40 million available for infrastructure repairs in Cumbria for the A591 road and the bridges.

“More money has also been made available to help with tourism, with sport, with national parks and with businesses. More money has been provided for assistance to farmers. £2 million pounds of flexible money has been provided immediately to the Cumbria Community Foundation for charitable assistance. The county council is still inspecting bridges, roads, and other assets, to arrive at a final figure on infrastructure damage.”

The county council is concerned at the miserly flow of money from Whitehall which is strangling rebuilding work in the county.

Leader Stewart Young is pressing for a face to face meeting with ministers to sort out the issue.

“We have got £35million so far and that is woefully inadequate,” he says.

“The work to repair the A591 is being paid out of that and it is entirely possible that it will all be used up on the road.

“We want to start contractors on the repairs needed, but we can’t unless we know we can pay for it.

“We submitted a list of infrastructure damage before Christmas.

“The government obviously wants to agree all the costs before paying anything so there is a lot of discussion going on.

“It’s a bit like arguing with your loss adjuster about how much insurance you can claim.

“It is all part of the negotiation, as it costs us money to do this detailed work with the risk that we may not get anything, and government can use it as a delaying tactic by asking us to constantly refine our figures.

“My view is that they could make interim payments to us so that we can get on with the work, and we will have an open book policy so that they can be assured we are not overclaiming.”

Lord Liddle adds: “I would have expected more by now. “They have to decide whether they agree with the county’s costs.

“They have to settle on an agreed amount with the council, then set out how they propose this to be financed.

“My hope is that Rory can exert some pressure to get this sorted.

“I think it needs maximum pressure.

“They have to sort it out within weeks, rather than months.”

Mr Young is concerned that we will have to wait until the end of the current financial year at the end of March before we hear anything.

Then the government will know how much its departments will have underspent and how much money it can hand out for repairs.

The Labour leader says: “We are a long way short and the time is pressing now.

“There are so many government ministers involved in this. We are looking to meet them in London in the next couple of weeks to sort it out.

“We have not had enough, we need more and we will keep fighting for it.”