"In turn, they learn about committees, they learn about the ins and outs of taking decisions and gain management experience through their involvement."A design student at Northumbria and one on a more traditional course at Durham share something important: both must make the transition from empty vessels into which knowledge and ideas are poured, into users and disseminators of these.Getting undergraduates to teach each other seems, superficially, like a cop-out to save money. Networking between students, especially those returning from placements, was happening anyway. "Now we are trying to develop the self-help system; the way we taught in the past was very intensive, with a lot of tutorials." Still, the students I saw seemed happy that the lecturers were available if required.Does this "self-mentoring" culture transfer to more traditional undergraduate fare? Judith Turner, principal of Van Mildert College at the University of Durham, can point to instances where this occurs informally within the college, although she accepts it is difficult to formalise.One area where students are more directly involved is in management of computing facilities within the college. By sharing their skills, the students become more marketable. "Communication is the key to selling our ideas," says Darren Mullen. "If you can't communicate with a client, you've lost the game."Stuart English sees it as a direct response to decreasing resources.

One wall of the studio is devoted to A5 boards, each with a photograph of a student and contact address plus list of his or her experiences, special skills and, most important, areas where they need help.Neal Kirkpatrick, an undergraduate now on an industrial placement, says: "When I get back to college I'll definitely use this skill I've picked up." Open Folio puts people who may want to learn about this skill in touch with him, and lets him see what others have learnt on their placements.The scheme acts as a skills register, especially useful for putting first- and second-year students in touch with those in the final two years who have the benefit of industrial work experience. The core of the scheme at Northumbria is an idea, contributed by the students, called "Open Folio". What we were able to do before was give each student individual tutorials right through their project work. Now, with more students that's not always possible, so they have to get advice from somewhere else." His answer has been to get the students to take over some of the day-to-day advice and help themselves.It is part of a growing trend, particularly in the new universities, where students act as "mentors" for one another. You have to be hands-on, doing it." Stuart English says: "Each student is working on a separate project most of the time and the requirements for that project are usually different. "Now we have five lecturers, two technicians and about 135 students." It is a familiar story to anyone working in higher education today.

The conundrum is to maintain or improve quality in these conditions. Why not just pack them into a bigger lecture hall? Impossible, says Darren Mullen, a final-year student "Industrial design is embedded in craft," he explains "The degree is like an apprenticeship I don't think design is something tutors can teach you. Thus whether or not there was valid delegation was irrelevant.. "Twenty years ago there were maybe 20 lecturers and 10 or 11 technicians for only 45 students," says Stuart English, lecturer in industrial design at the University of Northumbria. This was not a case where the right to prosecute was limited to the local authority.

If that were wrong the 1987 Act did not limit the power of others to prosecute and thus the informant, like any other person, had the power to prosecute.Mr Justice Collins, concurring, said that it was not necessary for the prosecutor to call evidence to establish that any particular person was misled by any price display.The officer laying the information on behalf of the council was entitled to lay the information in his private capacity. If in every case the prosecution had to lead evidence by an individual or individuals showing that those individuals might wish to be supplied with the goods, as well as establishing that the indication as to the price of the goods was misleading, it might well deprive the section of much of its effect.Turning to the minutes, although it could not be pretended that they were a model of clarity and precision, the council was defining public health and safety as including all aspects of consumer protection and there was effective delegation. The Crown Court dismissed MFI's appeal.MFI appealed on the grounds that on the true construction of section 20 it was necessary for the prosecution to prove that the misleading price indication actually was given to a particular consumer, and on the construction of the minutes of delegation for Newcastle City Council there had been no delegation to the informant, the assistant director (consumer and environmental protection), to lay the informations and prosecute the offences.Ian Croxford QC and Thomas Lowe (Cripps & Shone, Marlow) for MFI; Patrick Cosgrove QC (City Solicitor) for the council.Lord Justice Balcombe said that the references to and definition of consumers in section 20 were intended to limit the offence to cases where the misleading indication was intended to affect the actions of a person who might wish to be supplied with the goods for his own private use or consumption.Thus it would not be an offence for a wholesaler to give a misleading indication to a retailer buying for retail resale nor to a misleading indication as to the price of goods which by their nature could not have been intended for private use or consumption, such as dental equipment which would only be used by a dentist in the course of his professional practice.There was nothing in section 20 or 21 which required the prosecutor to prove that a particular misleading indication of price had been given to a particular person who might wish to be supplied with the goods for his own private use or consumption. The officer did not actually see any member of the public reading the price leaflets but the store was open to the public and members of the public were in the store wandering around looking at the furniture.MFI was convicted by justices of offences under section 20 of indicating savings by means of price comparison when the goods had not been available at the higher price for 28 consecutive days in the preceding six months. They claimed a 40-per-cent saving for the kitchen furniture and a 50-per-cent saving on the bedroom furniture. Brochures and price leaflets referring to the furniture displayed were available for customers. a person shall be guilty of an offence if, in the course of any business of his, he gives (by any means whatsoever) to any consumers an indication which is misleading as to the price at which any goods are available.