More than £120 million of child maintenance is owed in Wales, according to latest figures from the Child Support Agency (CSA).
The Minister in charge of the child maintenance system has promised action against parents not paying what they owe.
Child Support Agency (CSA) data for Wales shows that around £206m is owed in unpaid child maintenance arrears. Over half of the total (£120.75m) represents money owed to parents caring for children with the rest owed to the Government.
Broken down by Parliamentary constituency, in Caerphilly the figure owed to parents is £3,580,300 with £2,942,300 owed to the Government.
In Islwyn the figure owed to parents is £3,899,300 with £3,103,200 owed to the Government.
According to figures up to December 2011, £14m in total is owed in Caerphilly County Borough.
The arrears have accumulated since the Child Support Agency was formed in 1993. The totals include punitive assessments imposed on parents who have failed to provide income details to the Agency.
As the Government prepares reforms of the system, it has pledged to track down parents who have evaded their responsibilities and collect as much outstanding debt as possible.
Work and Pensions Minister Maria Miller said: “These shocking figures underline the long- term failure of a system that has let down countless families. We are now taking tougher action against those who have refused to pay. All parents who are still owed CSA arrears can be assured that we will take all reasonable steps to recover this money for them.”
Ms Miller continued: “Separated parents can avoid the conflict that often comes with CSA involvement by making their own, family-based maintenance arrangements whenever possible. We’ve already committed £20 million for developing better co-ordinated local support services to help them do that. It will help the new state child maintenance service to concentrate more effectively on parents who deliberately cheat their children out of financial support.”
The Government has also confirmed that it is committed to introducing further enforcement powers for use against parents who refuse to pay.