 Enacted in June 1945 when a caretaker Conservative government was in power, it came into operation from August 6, 1946, and was the first law to provide child benefit in the United Kingdom.Family allowances had been one of the items proposed by the Beveridge Report in 1942.The Labour Party briefly debated pressing for allowances during the Second World War, but a party conference resolution to this end was opposed by the trades unions for fear that the amount paid would be taken into account in wage negotiations, leaving workers no better off.