Care Agency invoicing

I can only speak (or write) from my own experience, but all the hoo-hah about the care sector being hugely underfunded does warrant some detailed analysis.

Local authorities undoubtedly pay huge sums to care agencies; how do they know what they should be paying?

Our care agency is very unreliable with invoicing: in a year of doing business with them half of the invoices have been wrong - by up to about £50 - and, oddly, always in their favour.

Today they have written to me saying three invoices are overdue; one was paid at the end of December, the other two were paid by cheque posted last week, the invoices only being received ten days ago (and are therefore not overdue). If I was the accounts payable officer in a local authority would I really pick up on these - or would the invoices have been paid a second time?

Has anyone thought that perhaps local authorities should actually employ the carers who work for those in receipt of council funded care, so avoiding cock ups in payments to care agencies? The care agencies would still be needed for people who have savings, and could perhaps provide a more tailored service (at a cost).