The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word UTILITIES
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
U
T
I
L
I
T
I
E
S
More clues leading to the result UTILITIES
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "public services" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case public services = utilities.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does UTILITIES mean?
UTILITIES noun- The state or condition of being useful; usefulness.
- Something that is useful.
- The ability of a commodity to satisfy needs or wants; the satisfaction experienced by the consumer of that commodity.
- Well-being, satisfaction, pleasure, or happiness.
- A service provider, such as an electric company or water company; or, the securities of such a provider.
- A software program designed to perform a single task or a small range of tasks, often to help manage and tune computer hardware, an operating system or application software.
- The ability to play multiple positions.