Wayfarers Arcade starts the New Year on a positive note

A new high quality, hand finished picture framing studio and art shop has started the New Year with a move into the iconic Wayfarers Arcade.

Gallery More Studio and Shop is owned by artist Deborah Flynn who specialises in bespoke, hand finished, quality frames, curated artworks, and prints.

The arcade shop stocks quality artisan merchandise and specialises in fine art supplies in a beautiful, contemporary welcoming space.

After studying fine art at Liverpool Art School and UCLAN Deb is now keen to support and highlight new talent in the studio's exhibition space.

Deb says:- "After a long hiatus living in Europe, raising a family, renovating houses, and somehow finding time to paint and develop my practice, I finally came home. I am looking forward to being able to display a few personal pieces in our lovely new studio and shop in Wayfarers"

Gallery More collaborate with individual artists, galleries, organisations, and new emerging talent across the country.

The small exhibition space at the front of the shop highlights favourite pieces by favourite artists. If you are interested in being featured you can call in and chat to Deb or drop her an email at:- Info@GalleryMore.Co.UK with a few examples of work.

Centre Manager Yvonne Burns commented:- "We are delighted to welcome Gallery More to the Wayfarers family. Deb's unique shop is precisely the sort of business we are looking to attract into the arcade."
 

NSPCC poll finds majority of public in the North want tougher Online Safety Bill that holds tech bosses responsible for child safety

But they argued that making the suggested changes would cement the UK as a global authority for children's safety online.

The move is also supported by Ruth Moss, whose daughter Sophie died by suicide after viewing harmful material on social media.

Ruth Moss said:- "As far as I'm concerned, where companies wilfully break the law and put the lives of children like my daughter at risk, of course senior managers should be criminally accountable. The consequences of non- compliance are life changing for children like Sophie. Criminal liability drives the right behaviours in those with the most responsibility. It works in other industries and there is no reason in my mind as to why big tech executives should be treated any differently."

Miriam Cates MP said:- "It's clear to most people that the big global tech companies are not going to wake up one day and suddenly decide to start protect children from harmful online content. We have seen repeated failures of Big tech to protect children from the horrors of sexual exploitation, pornography and content that draws them into self-harm and suicide, and sadly the Online Safety Bill as it stands will not stop this. The only way to secure the change we desperately need is to make senior directors personally responsible for failures to protect children and that's why I urge all MPs to support this amendment to include senior manager liability in the Online Safety Bill."

The amendment has cross-party support including from the Labour frontbench.

Shadow Culture Secretary Lucy Powell MP said:- "Labour has long called for the online safety bill to be strengthened especially when it comes to the liability - including criminal liability; of social media bosses. Without these sanctions there's a real risk that a UK regulator will be toothless. Yet instead of strengthening the laws, the Government has recently gutted and watered down the bill, letting social media companies off the hook and allowing harms, abuse and hate to continue. I welcome the campaigning work of the NSPCC to toughen this Bill."

The Online Safety Bill has been subject to delays amid intense scrutiny in recent months as the Government amended elements relating to adult safety.

The Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan has repeatedly said protections for children would be strengthened and campaigners argue holding tech bosses liable for the safety of young users would send a signal of intent to Big Tech.

7,318 people in the North signed an open letter to Ms Donelan calling for the legislation to properly hold senior managers to account for the safety of sites children use.

Rachel, 15, who handed the letter into the Culture Secretary with other members of the NSPCC's Young People's Board for Change, said:- "Far too much pressure is put on young people from such a young age to keep themselves safe online. Too many children are exposed to content promoting self-harm and eating disorders. It's become a norm in our everyday lives. We need a Bill that is going to hold big tech firms accountable. Without it, young people are on their own. We've been on our own for so long online - and it's not working."

The NSPCC said senior managers must also be liable for preventing child sexual abuse that is taking place at a record scale online.

The charity estimate that over 21,000 online child sex crimes will have been recorded by police in the time the legislation was delayed in July 2022 until it is likely to finally pass through Parliament on 16 January 2023.

Sir Peter Wanless, NSPCC Chief Executive, said:- "2022 was the year the Online Safety Bill faced delay after delay while children faced sexual abuse on an industrial scale and tech bosses sat on their hands as their algorithms continued to bombard young users with hugely dangerous material. This year must be the year legislation delivers the systemic change for children online that our polling shows families up and down the UK want. The Government can do this by delivering bold, world-leading regulation that ensures the buck stops with senior management for the safety of our children."