In principle, public services are the responsibility of public authorities. Therefore, in the view of various stakeholders, public authorities have to retain a certain level of control over the actors delivering such services. In the view of these stakeholders, subcontracting limits this control. For example, if public services are subcontracted the contracting authorities might have difficulty contacting the undertaking actually performing the service. This is thought to lead to delays, which might affect the quality of the respective service. One stakeholder therefore suggests setting out clearly in the contractual framework when and under what conditions subcontracting is permitted. This suggestion is supported by another stakeholder who believes that - as a basic principle - the concessionaire needs to perform the public service himself and subcontracting should therefore be considered an exception to this rule, requiring special consideration in the initial contract.