Enforcement: the application and what the court can do

When an order is repeatedly not followed without good reason, you can ask the court to enforce it using form C79C79. The application form relating to enforcement of a child arrangements order.. Download it with the official guidance booklet CB5CB5. The court service guide to applying to enforce a child arrangements order. The application form is C79..

Before you apply

• Check the warning noticeWarning notice. A notice attached to a child arrangements order setting out the consequences of not complying with it. is attached to the order that was breached.
• Check the wording. If the order only requires the other parent to "allow" time, and the issue is that your child won't go, there may be no breach at all. Parents are held to what the order actually says, no more and no less.^[15]
• Check the fee in the EX50EX50. The guidance that lists the current civil and family court fees. guidance, and apply for Help with FeesHelp with Fees. A scheme that can reduce or cover eligible court fees. EX160 is the paper application form. if you qualify.

You don't need to attend a MIAMMIAM. Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting. A meeting to find out whether mediation or another way of resolving a dispute could help. It is usually required before certain family court applications, unless an… before an enforcement application, but the court must still consider whether other ways of resolving it are suitable, and it will notice whether you tried.

The breach schedule

This is the most important document you will file. A table, one row per breach, in date order:

• one row per breach, never "March and April"
• quote the order's own words
• keep "what happened" short and factual, with no comment on motives
• cross-reference every row to evidence, and flag honestly where there's none
• include only the strong entries. A few well-evidenced breaches are better than many weak ones
• total it at the bottom: "Time didn't take place on 9 of 14 occasions between 8 March and 26 July."

Your supporting statement

Two to four pages. Set out the order, how arrangements worked before, a summary of the breaches with reference to the schedule, what you did to resolve them, the effect on your child, any explanation given and your response to it, and what you're asking the court to do.

The standard of proof

To make an enforcement orderEnforcement order. An order requiring unpaid work where a child arrangements order has been breached without reasonable excuse., the court must be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the order was breached. This is the criminal standard and the highest in law. It's also the main reason enforcement orders are made less often than parents expect. Dated, timed, corroborated records are what meet it.^[14]

Reasonable excuseReasonable excuse. A good reason for not complying with an order, which can prevent an enforcement order being made.

Even where a breach is proved, the court can't make an enforcement order if the other parent had a reasonable excuse. They must show this on the balance of probabilitiesBalance of probabilities. The test the family court uses to decide disputed facts: whether something is more likely than not to have happened. It's a lower bar than the criminal standard of beyond reasonable doubt.. Genuine illness, a real emergency or a safeguarding concern acted on reasonably in good faith may succeed. A diary clash, a new partner or retaliation for something unrelated usually doesn't.

Think ahead about what explanation is likely to be given, and prepare a calm, factual response with evidence.

What the court can do

Fathers often picture punishment. In practice, the most common outcomes are practical:

• A firm warning recorded in the order, with arrangements to resume immediately.
• Varying the order to make it clearer and harder to misunderstand: precise handover places and times, neutral venues, who drives, stronger wording, or a requirement to offer a replacement date.
• Make-up time for time that was lost, set out as specific dates.
• Activity directions, such as the Planning Together for Children course or other parenting programmes.
• CafcassCafcass. The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service, which advises the family court on children's welfare in England. Cafcass Cymru does the same in Wales. monitoring of compliance for up to 12 months.
• Compensation for financial loss caused by a breach, such as wasted holiday costs.
• An enforcement order requiring 40 to 200 hours of unpaid work, which can be suspended on condition the order is followed.
• Committal for contempt, in serious and persistent cases where the order carries a penal noticePenal notice. A warning on an order that breaching it may be a contempt of court punishable by a fine or imprisonment.. This is a last resort and needs proper legal advice.
• A change of who the child lives with, very rarely, and only where the court decides the child's welfare requires it.^[14]

When you apply, ask for a specific range of these, with a draft of any variation you're proposing. A judge who won't impose unpaid work is still very likely to tighten an order and record a warning, but only if you have asked.

A realistic good outcome

A firm warning, a clearer order, make-up time and the case returning to the same judge if there are further problems is a good result. It isn't retribution. The point of enforcement is to get your child back into a reliable routine, and to build a record that makes any future breach easier to address.

If you are the one accused of breaching

Take it seriously. Respond in writing to each item in the schedule. Admit what did happen. Set out any reasonable excuse with evidence. If the order is no longer workable, say so and ask for it to be varied. If your child is refusing, set out exactly what you have done to encourage them and when. Get advice.