Budget disappointment for bike manufacturer

Jerry Lawson said the budget had some positives

The co-founder of a children's bike manufacturer has said he was disappointed the budget did not include any specific tax relief for the cycle industry.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt unveiled a raft of spending measures on Wednesday, including a new tax on vaping products, a reduction of national insurance, and the abolishment of the non-dom tax regime.

Jerry Lawson, who founded Frog Bikes in Ascot in 2013, said the budget had lots of "positive" things, but he wanted to see things that would incentivise cycling.

"There's no VAT on kids clothing... so why is something like sports, bicycles in particular, having VAT on it?" he said.

Mr Lawson said he welcomed some parts of the budget, including the national insurance cut, which was "really good for the team".

"It's about £400 extra for them a year," he said.

"Which I think is really positive."

He also praised the new tax on vaping products and an increase in tobacco duty, but said incentivising cycling for children would also have health benefits.

"As a bicycle manufacturer, we were really looking at incentivising more people to do cycling and there was a lot of money [for that] in past budgets... and it hasn't been restored having been removed last time," he said.

"We would have liked to see more going towards cycling and encouraging kids to cycle."

Rebecca Mistry said the budget left her "jaded"

Berkshire resident Rebecca Mistry was also disappointed with the budget, saying the national insurance cut would not offset rising bills.

"If you live in [the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead], I still think it's daft because council tax is going up," she said.

"Even if you are getting a national insurance cut, its not going to make any difference because your bills are still going up.

"'I'm slightly cynical and slightly jaded by it all."