C79

Form C79 is the application to enforce a child arrangements order under the Children Act 1989. Where a party breaches a child arrangements order — for example by denying contact, failing to return a child, or repeatedly not complying with the scheduled arrangements — the other party can use Form C79 to ask the court to enforce it. The court can make an enforcement order under section 11J of the Children Act 1989, which may attach conditions including unpaid work, and can also make a financial compensation order under section 11O for financial loss caused by the breach. C79 is not used to change or vary a child arrangements order — that requires Form C100. Enforcement only works against an existing order, and the applicant must show the breach is established. The court will consider whether enforcement is in the child's best interests and whether the breach was serious enough to warrant it; minor or one-off breaches may not justify enforcement, and the court may prefer to refer the parties to mediation or to vary the order instead.