Controls of Public Services

The Italian legal system set up a system of administrative controls of public services only relatively recently, when the liberalization process began in the 1990s. This article emphasizes that controls can be divided into two types: those designed to safeguard the quality of services, and those aimed at verifying compliance with the non-economic conditions imposed on public service providers. The author points out that controls of the first type have taken root in recent years, although they are on the whole fragmented, lacking in unitary direction and of uncertain effectiveness, while those of the second type have often turned out to be merely formal, fulfilment-based and sometimes even unsubstantial. This asymmetry reveals a progressive disappearance of the essential function of public services themselves, which is to ensure economic and social cohesion, and is not compensated for by the quality of the services provided. The conclusion of the article focuses on the 2022 reform of local public services, which the author considers interesting because of the central role it assigns to administrative controls and the use made thereof. However, in conclusion, the author raises doubts as to the actual ability of local authorities to implement the new reform.