Did George Orwell foresee all of this?
Careful, the thought police will be after you. He stopped in 1984.
1978 the problems started, our Winter of Discontent, the government realised that having one supplier, be that the government or anyone else, does not work. And it started a battle between the political parties to nationalise or denationalise, be it coal, steel, electric, gas, or transport, it was not so much if nationalise or denationalise was good or bad, but the swapping between the two.
I worked for a council, and I saw how some departments worked well, where others had the attitude, "What's money" and interdepartmental squabbles, and as to workers, if an electrician feels he is under paid, easy, he finds another job, but with a nurse, there is really only one employer. However, the electrician one way or another paid for his education, the nurse got it free, no student loan for them. So swings and roundabouts, but working out who to ask to get a job done, is becoming a problem.
As I am sure already said, the DNO tell the homeowner what type of earth is to be used, it has to be this way around, as in some cases the earth is common between owners, a single metal framed building may have multi-supplies, however these are earthed, has to be the same. In real terms, my house has water in plastic, no gas, and enough distance between us and neighbours, so it would not matter if we had a different earth. There is no metal services joining us to neighbours, so if I decided to have a TT supply it would not be a problem.
But my last house was different, there were metal pipes (gas) joining the homes, and so what ever earth was used, the whole street needed to be the same. And it is so easy to forget not everyone lives in the same style of house, or has the same control.
I can decide if I have an RCD, RCBO etc, but tenants have to have what the landlord gives them, some goes for solar panels, EV charging points, even off-street parking. I look at homes where their garage has been converted to a room, and feel why should I struggle to get past their car on the road, but it may be rented and they have no option.
As to records, often that suits us, when I found no earth at the parent's house, I phoned the DNO and asked what earth I should have, they did not know, so had to send someone out, and so I got TN-C-S without needing to pay for it.
But my son re-wired a house, and was told it would be a TN-C-S supply, so left the earth tail to be connected when meter fitted, and the meter installer decided it should be TT, and left the house with no earth connected, by that time my son had stopped sole trading, sold his house, and was living in a narrow boat, i.e. of no fixed abode, so was unaware what had gone on. There was at least 3 months between re-wire, and the meter being fitted, years ago when fitting a meter they would check the house, not any more it seems.
Although I have had a phone call from son when a meter was moved, as they wanted an electrician on site when a meter moved, so seems they bend the rules to suit themselves?