THE question of why Councils spend money on certain projects when other services are desperate for funding is one of the most common questions from taxpayers.

And now Bradford Council’s Highways Department has attempted to clarify this pressing question.

In recent years Bradford Council and West Yorkshire Combined Authority have been awarded funding for numerous highways projects – some of which have not been universally welcomed by residents.

The most recent project to raise questions was a £9m cycleway along Sunbridge Road and Thornton Road. Work on the Government funded project is expected to start later this year.

When the Telegraph & Argus reported on this scheme, some readers questioned the funding, arguing the cash should be spent on care homes, hiring more police for the city centre or even be transferred into the NHS.

On Tuesday the Highways Department behind many of these schemes Tweeted to ex-plain why the authority could not accept money for one project, then funnel it into another scheme – or another organisation.

The department’s Twitter feed said the Authority gets “lots of comments” on how it spends money.

It added: “If we are awarded funding we are only permitted to spend it where Government has allocated it.

“The Government sets aside funding pots that can only be spent on specific areas of work.

“The money we are granted can only be spent on what it is allocated for, such as transportation or environmental improvements.

“Any money we are granted for highways schemes does not deprive any other area of the Council of funding.”

The feed points out that if that money is not used for the purpose it was allocated for, it is not free to use for other purposes.

It adds: “When a bid for funding is unsuccessful, that money is still used for the same type of scheme in other Districts.”