Muammar Al Khadafi

The government has launched its "UK Aid Match" scheme today - billed as a way to give the British public a say in how aid money is spent, but not really doing anything much of the sort.

The scheme will see charities able to apply for an Aid Match for appeals, and if successful the government will match any money the appeal raises from the public (up to a maximum of £5m).

What's the catch?

Well, it's a Department for International Development (DFID) project, so forget about any fundraising match for charities in the UK.

The information on the applications page tells us that it is "Open to any UK organisation running an appeal in the UK for public donations from the UK public for poverty reduction projects in developing countries "

We're even told what countries the aid must be intended to help if the charities are to receive funding (see image). Included are, no shock, such nations as India and Pakistan who both have huge armies and nuclear arsenals.

The total allocation to UK Aid Match - which is being trialled for one year - is £30million.

From a budget of well over £8billion of your money which the DFID has for the 2011/12 period, that's not really giving you much say in things. £30milion is a drop in the ocean, nothing more than a way of giving you next to no say but pretending that they did in order to keep you thinking you have a say. You don't.

Besides, you don't actually get a say in whether we spend billions on foreign aid, or whether we increase it (by 2014/15 we'll be committing well over £11billion to foreign aid, at a time when everything else is being cut back), or whether we should stop it altogether.

It's a feeble Public Relations exercise and nothing more.

Oh, and don't bother asking for a pound for pound match scheme for any charities within Britain that the British people might benefit from - there's no money for you, we spent it all overseas. You just get to pay for it, don't expect to see any of the benefits.