On Thu, 24 Aug 2017 13:25:00 +0100, Joe wrote:

No, every fuse protects the wiring following it, until the next fuse
is reached. I'm saying that the fuse 'on the pole' only protects the
wiring as far as the consumer unit. It's the job of local fuses to
protect the wiring that they feed. No wiring leaving the consumer unit
would be large enough to be adequately protected by the main supply
fuse, smaller fuses are necessary.

The utility fuse is only intended to protect the transformer and it is
on the primary side, typically sized at 150% or more of the
transformer rating. Service conductors going to the home should be
regarded as not really having any overload protection.