When C79 is the right move
If a child arrangements order names specific contact and the other parent repeatedly fails to comply, Form C79 asks this court to enforce it. The fee is £270 (EX50), and on any enforcement application the court must consider enforcement — unpaid work, compensation for financial loss, costs — unless there was reasonable excuse. The full C79 guide.
What to file with the application
- The breach log Dated entries: what the order required, what happened instead, message evidence. One incident is an incident; a pattern is what enforcement acts on. (Log method.)
- The order itself A defined order enforces; a "reasonable contact" order mostly doesn't. If yours is vague, the honest first application is for a defined order, not C79.
- The refusal letter trail Your written requests for make-up contact and the replies (or silence). Courts look for a parent who tried, in writing, calmly.
- Realistic proposals Offer make-up contact dates in the application itself. The parent proposing solutions is the one the court trusts with more contact.
Enforcement has trapdoors: don't apply while your own compliance is spotty, don't file within hours of minor hiccups (pattern-of-war reads badly), and if an older child's own reluctance is the issue, the case becomes welfare — s.7 territory — not breach.
Questions people ask at Brighton-Hearing Centre — self-representation guide
Will the court in Brighton-Hearing Centre — self-representation guide really penalise her?
The court must consider enforcement on a proper application with evidence — unpaid work orders, compensation and costs are real powers. In practice, a well-evidenced C79 most often produces either compliance before hearing or a stricter defined order with consequences attached.
Can I get my lost costs back?
Compensation for financial loss (e.g. prepaid holiday, non-refundable tickets) is expressly available on enforcement applications — with receipts. General expenses like "time off work" are harder; document actual money spent.
What if she says the child refuses?
For younger children that assertion gets tested (how was contact handled? what does the child actually say?). For teenagers, courts weigh the child's own wishes more heavily — the remedy shifts from enforcement to welfare investigation.
Before your hearing
Turning scattered messages, notes and dates into evidence takes structure. build the breach log that enforcement applications turn on — EvidenceCanvas is a guided toolkit that helps you draft a child-focused witness statement, answer a Scott Schedule point by point, and assemble a paginated court bundle. It is not a law firm and does not give legal advice.