NT wrote
| OTOH replacing a socket, which any diy competent could do,

until 31st December last year ...

also who cares, they are negligable cost as they are.

As would a rewire, which would probably be required to safely support
the doubling number of sockets in many cases...
Theres no reason rewiring is needed to use these new sockets.

Unless they or the plugs are fused, rewiring would be needed to take British
32A ring circuits down to the 16A which is the rating of most European plugs
and appliance flexes. (And unfused plugs could *not* be compatible with 13A
sockets, for the obvious reason.) 16A radial circuits would, in most cases,
use much more cable and also require far more circuits, increasing MCB and
labour costs.

| As far as our present system working well, it does have
| one problem, and this would solve it. The proliferation
| of socket strips and adaptors is a needless consequence
| of the insufficient number of fitted sockets

It is the natural consequence of more and more electrical appliances. All
countries use socket strips, including countries like the USA which have
much smaller plugs (originally intended for christmas tree lights AIUI) and
wiring 'code' that specifies down to the inch how many sockets and circuits
are required.

| and the large size of them.

No.

Owain