The Ministry of Defence has emerged as one of the winners in the Spending Review with a real-terms budget increase of more than 3% over the course of the Parliament.

Spending is set to rise from £34.3 billion in 2015-16 to £38.1 billion in 2019-20, according to the Treasury Blue Book, to cover the costs of implementing the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) earlier this week.

It includes an investment of £2 billion in special forces and £1.2 billion to ensure the first of the Royal Navy's new aircraft carriers has a full complement of F-35 joint strike fighters from 2023.

It will also enable the MoD to replace the Nimrod maritime patrol aircraft which was scrapped in the last SDSR and to go ahead with the renewal of the submarine fleet which carries the UK's Trident nuclear deterrent.

Overseas aid spending will increase in line with the Government's commitment to spend 0.7% of national income on aid.

The Department for International Development's budget will rise from £11.1 billion in 2015-16 (including £1.2 billion of cross-government funding) to £14.2 billion in 2019-20, with £3.1 billion of cross-government funding.

Aid spending will be "reshaped" to support the Government's strategic objectives, including promoting global peace and security and strengthening resilience and response to crises.

Chancellor George Osborne said he was protecting the Foreign Office budget in real terms, with spending of £1.1 billion a year throughout the Spending Review period.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said: "National Security is the top priority for this Government.

"This Spending Review will enable us to invest in the cutting edge equipment our world-class armed forces need to keep Britain safe at home and abroad.

"We will increase our 10 year Equipment Programme by £12 Billion and continue to meet the Nato 2% GDP target for the rest of this decade.

"This means more ships, more planes, more troops ready to act, better equipment for Special Forces and more money for cyber."