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In some ways, the debate on the future of the health service, broadcast on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio Cornwall at lunchtime yesterday (and still available on iPlayer,) was something of a very well-informed rehearsal for the Cornwall Council meeting on Tuesday. With a panel and audience of health professionals and policy-makers, most aspects of the government's proposed reorganisation got a thorough scrutiny.

Thanks to a petition bearing more than 5,000 names, Cornwall's councillors will now be forced to take a position on the government's plans - which I first blogged about in September and which certainly threaten to test the relationship between the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives.

One aspect of the petition which has to be considered on Tuesday is whether or not to hold a referendum in Cornwall, to give voters a chance to pronounce specifically on this particular part of the coalition's programme. The council has already told me that such a stand-alone referendum would cost about £600,000 to organise.

But supporters of a referendum on health policy say it could be held at the same time as the referendum about changing the voting system, on 5th May, and that this would cut costs dramatically. They point out that in Scotland, Wales, and many parts of England, the Alternative Vote referendum is being held alongside local council elections without any apparent difficulty.

It's an idea which has not gone down well with the suits at County Hall. Here's

"It is the strong advice of the Head of Legal and Democratic Services and the Electoral Services Manager that there should no form of public consultation which runs alongside or in anyway involves the arrangements for the Alternative Vote Referendum. Members will be aware of the importance of that Referendum and nothing should be done which could in any way interfere with or influence the effective conduct of the arrangements for that Referendum in Cornwall."