Government funding for the Department of International Development (DfID) will grow by nearly 50 per cent to £11.5bn by 2014/15, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced.

Funding for DfID will grow from £7.8bn this year to £11.5bn by 2015.

It represents an increase to 0.7 per cent of gross national income from 2013, in line with the UK’s international commitments to helping poorer countries.

As part of the new deal, DfID will face greater scrutiny on its spending with the setting up of a new independent commission on aid impact which will assess all of DfID’s spending to ensure value for money.

DfID will also ensure back-office costs account for only 2 per cent of total spending by 2015, close its programmes in China and Russia and phase out the Development Awareness Fund in order to redirect money to programmes combating poverty.

Further, DfID will receive funding as part a new settlement of the Conflict Pool - a tri-departmental fund for DfID and the Ministry of Defence to help prevent conflict and support post-conflict stabilisation.

The fund will grow from £229m to £309m by 2014/15.

The government has said Britain’s international development policy will focus more on boosting economic growth and wealth creation.