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Is the Brown offer a "con"?

Mark Devenport | 16:44 UK time, Thursday, 22 October 2009

I wasn't in the office yesterday so didn't get blogging about It's looking definitely good enough for Martin McGuinness, almost certainly good enough for David Cameron and probably good enough for Peter Robinson.

However today the TUV's Jim Allister thought he had spotted a in the Prime Minister's package. claiming that any cash drawn from the UK contingency fund would have to be paid back, so could a have a negative impact on services such as education and health.

Not so, claims Jeffrey Donaldson. He and insists the assertion that the money is a loan is "plain and simply wrong".

(UPDATE: The NIO has also weighed in this evening insisting that "this claim is without foundation. HM Treasury are not requiring Reserve claims to be repaid in this case".)

With different money matters in mind, brace yourself for more information on MLA expenses. Breakdowns going back to 2003 will be available on the Assembly website from tomorrow. Some of the material will mirror what has already been put in the public domain by Good Morning Ulster, but there may be further details.

Far from having what Sammy Wilson would call with expenses I have to confess I find the business of scanning through page after page of utility bills and photocopying charges pretty mind numbing. So I'm rather glad that some time ago I booked tomorrow off for a bit of half term leave (although I am returning to the hot seat alongside Jim for Saturday's Ulster Unionist conference). But one plea to Sammy - update your Commons register of interests! A regular reader has pointed out to me you still haven't put down your Finance Minister's job or any estimate of how many hours your council, MLA and academic jobs take out of your working week.

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