We've had shuttered sockets ever since BS1363 was introduced. The latest revision to the plug standard specifies sleeved line and neutral pins
Shuttered sockets on wall mounted GPO's have been available here since the 1950's when flush mounted accessories became standard, but they've never been compulsory.
The sleeved plug pins are now compulsory since last year. The initial idea was to give us recessed GPO's as per European practice but that died very quickly because many existing things wouldn't fit (eg. plugpack transformers). So we got sleeved pins instead. Extension cord sockets are however of the recessed type as of the last few years. The side cutters come out when the older plugpack won't go in of course.
trading standards departments in the country are even now trying to enforce a ban on the sale of even second-hand goods which are not so equipped
It isn't compulsory to have sleeved pins on the plug (yet) for 2nd hand equipment, but the plug cannot be one that's held together with screws. Anyone who works with vintage equipment would know that the screws holding together bakelite plugs can loosen over time, eventually leaving the plug in the power point with exposed terminals when the top finally comes off. Of course we would always keep them tight but the general non technical population can't be relied on to do that.
the humble BC lampholder, which could be on a desklamp, easily accessible
That's exactly what I was thinking of. It's also a likely scenario if the bulb filament has gone open circuit and it's assumed the lamp is switched off. How many of us have been caught changing a light bulb to find the replacement lights up as soon as it is inserted?
