Catch of The Day

Take your action to the waterresponsible regulator - Ofwatauthorities

Overview

Set up in 1989 to monitor the newly privatised water industry, the watchdog has been accused by politicians and experts of failing to deliver the financial or management discipline that was promised.

Added to the list of accusations are regulatory capture and a watchdog in thrall to the very companies and people it is expected to oversee.

Lord Andrew Tyrie, Tory peer and former chair of the Competition and Markets Authority, has called for a thorough review of regulation in the UK, saying some regulators had been “captured by vested interests”.

A regular churn of staff between Ofwat and water companies has added to a sense that the watchdog is overly cosy with investors and water companies at the expense of consumers.

Ofwat consistently fail to properly regulate the market and approve water company’s financial models; which allow those water companies to take out massive loans to pay dividends and bonuses whilst failing to invest in the vital infrastructure we need.

They fail to take action against the illegal dumping of raw sewage and the fines they levy are so pitiful the water companies would rather pay them than pay to upgrade the infrastructure and fix the problems.

Location

Ofwat's London Office 
Ofwat’s head office is on Westferry Street, London. [see 'Recce Notes' at the end of this page]

Alternative location

Ofwat's Birmingham Headquarters 
The Birmingham office looks like a good alternative for this action – images on Google Maps show it to be in a large government building in the city centre, with a good amount of space outside and two revolving doors into the building.

Action Design

'Catch of the Day' stand

• Use a gazebo and some tables to create a fake market fish stand.
• Selling today’s catch – dirty nappies, used condoms, soiled wet wipes, and anything and everything we find polluting our rivers.
• Rebels dress as fish market traders and shout for people to buy today’s “Catch of the Day”.
• This is a visual and humorous way of highlighting the issue, which from afar will look like an ordinary market stand (albeit in an unusual location).
• Shouting - catch of the day - in a market trader manner will highlight the action to those further away, increasing the reach.
• This is not designed as a spicy action however you could incorporate spicy elements if there is a desire to do so.

Other things you could include

• Utilise the revolving doors, e.g. signs on one saying 'Ofwat[Name of authority] staff in', sign on the other saying 'Water Company staff out'
• Use 'Climate Crime Scene' tape around the building
• Take a box of today’s catch inside to offer to staff

Hand a demand to the regulatorauthority

• Write a letter to their CEO and make them take it on the day of the action
• The exact contents of the letter are up to you but it could include one, or all of the following:
  • A brief overview of their lack of action to date
  • What we think they should do in the immediate short term to stop the water companies from continuing as they are (ban dividend and bonus payments until water companies stop the illegal dumping of sewage)
  • Tighten up the current regulations that allow the water companies to lawfully rate beaches and swimming spots as “excellent” despite sewage being dumped there
  • Weak punishments for illegal activity and very low fines
  • Include your thoughts on the too-cosy relationship between them and the water companies.

An extension to the design

• Have rebels dress in 'Catch of the Day' branded t-shirts.
• Give free lunch vouchers out to commuters getting off the train in the morning – act as though it’s a completely normal new start-up that’s opening and is giving away free lunches as part of the launch. This should help bring more people to the action and enable us to engage with them on the issue.
• This will require some rebels to get to London early – between 7-9am to get vouchers out to commuters.

Messaging

The messaging needs to be carefully considered and needs input from the action planning group. There are several issues you could focus on, trying to cover them all is likely to dilute any individual message, so choosing one or two may be a better option.

• Issue of bonuses and dividends being paid without the investment in infrastructure
• Extremely weak punishment for those who dump sewage illegally and ineffectual fines
• Water companies being allowed to rate beaches and swimming spots as ‘excellent’ despite the sewage being dumped – poor testing procedures.
• Revolving door between the water companies and the regulator.

What You Need

• Gazebo or tarp [striped if possible!]
• Table(s)
• Plastic trays
• Fake ice
• Today’s 'catch' – nappies, tampons, wet wipes, fake poos, old shopping trolley etc
• Signs for the stall
• Blackboard with today’s menu (or is it possible to have a brownboard?)
• Dirty Water Banner
• Placards
• Brown Smoke
• Leaflets
• Branded T-shirts for those handing out vouchers
• “Free Catch of the Day” vouchers
• Climate Crime scene tape

Roles

• Action coordinator
• Fish stall staff – some to be behind the stall and some to be shouting from the front
• People carrying trays of today’s 'catch' – 3-5 people
• Banner holders
• Protest Liaison
• Photographer
• Spokesperson
• Live streamer / Videographer
• Action Wellbeing
• Outreach [handing out leaflets / sign-ups]
• XR Rhythms
• Police Station Support [if spicy elements included]
• Media & Messaging support

Possible future uses

The 'catchCatch of the day'Day' stall can be easily replicated elsewhere by other groups. You could even consider taking it to actual markets as a fun way to communicate the issue to the public.

Recce Notes

• They share the office with several other businesses – including the Civil Aviation Authority and HM Court & Tribunals service (so possibly a good place to bookmark for future as yet unknown actions).
  
  
  
  
• The entrance has two rotating doors plus normal doors on either side.
  
  
  
  
• There is a large reception serving all businesses in the building.
  
  
  
  
• There is a covered walkway with large planters which divide the entrance from the main pavement.
• There are two CCTV cameras on the walkway, although at the time of the recce, only one was operational.
  
  
  The non-working one was pointing at the floor.
  
  
• The stall should be set up on the main pavement, there's lots of space and you’re still right outside.
  
  
  
  
• Put Ofwat signs on the pillars on the left, it will be more obvious who you’re targeting.
• There is no signage for Ofwat other than the wallboard behind the reception desk.
• Dropping kit off - it is possible to drive a van right up to the pavement and unload right outside. The potential issues here are that, as Canary Wharf is private there are security points you must drive through.
  
  This one is hidden behind the blue truck but it’s a booth with 2 security people in it.
  
  
  
  
• There is an underground car park within a few minutes walk of the target, which is an alternative, you could park there and walk the kit to the target.
  
  
  
  
• For muster points, there are a few options. Meet near Canary Wharf tube station, it’s about a 10-minute walk to the target but will be fairly inconspicuous because there are a lot of people milling around and meeting there anyway.
• The walk from the tube to the target passes a security booth (for vehicles) and lots of CCTV. Unsure if that’s a concern or not but should be considered because it's on private Canary Wharf land rather than public London streets.
• There are several routes you could take so rebels wouldn’t have to walk together.
  
  
  
  
• Alternatively, there’s a muster point much closer to the target (this map shows a route walking the long way around the roundabout, you don’t have to). It’s on the upper level of this roundabout and hidden from the security booth.
  
  
  
  
• The downside is it may be a bit close to the target for a big group of rebels to meet.