A fairly common problem in older houses is socket outlets placed directly on the skirting board – this is unsafe as they are easy to damage which could lead to live wires being exposed.
Here is a typical socket outlet mounted on a skirting board:
After removing the socket from the wall, the carpet and floorboards are taken up and a channel is dug behind the skirting board to bring the cable to the correct height for the new location. This time the existing cable reached the new location comfortably, which is why you are seeing old-style red & black wires.
The socket outlet is mounted on the wall in the new position and the floorboard and carpet replaced – all this is required is to fill the hole in the skirting board. The socket outlet can be sunk into the wall if desired
In this case the property I was working in was being rented to young professionals, so some existing socket outlets (including this one) were replaced with sockets outlets containing USB charging sockets
All pictures used with the customer’s consent