IT has banned smoking in public places, introduced free personal care for the elderly, abolished students' tuition fees, given pensioners free bus travel and started phasing out prescription charges.
Politicians each have their own list of the Scottish Parliament's best achievements since it came into being ten years ago this week.
The parliament has built bridges between the public and their elected representatives, not least through the pub
lic petitions committee, which has received 1,244 petitions . But it still provokes harsh criticism, standing accused particularly of being too ready to follow public opinion rather than taking the decisions that are right for the country.
It has been credited with stimulating business in Edinburgh but also with failing to acknowledge and support the capital's crucial role as the powerhouse of the Scottish economy.
John McLaren, a former Scottish Labour economics adviser, argues the parliament has delivered "lots of populist decisions that are not very efficient or effective".
He points to: the gap in life expectancy between Scotland and England growing; Scotland slipping in the league table for literacy; and the percentage of Scots going to university falling while participation rates south of the border rise – although only slightly in both cases.
It is an analysis with which Lothians Labour MSP George Foulkes has sympathy. He cites the SNP's policies of free school meals and scrapping prescription charges, as well as the Labour/Liberal Democrat one of free personal care.
"I think he is absolutely right that decisions have been made on what is immediately popular," says Lord Foulkes. "People have to realise if you spend money on one things it means there is less for something else." He does, though, regard devolution as an overall success, citing "radical" action, such as land reform and the smoking ban.
Former health minister Malcolm Chisholm, the Labour MSP for Edinburgh North, refutes Mr McLaren's main charge: "It depends what indicators you use. You could say on waiting times the English health service is doing better, but that's partly because they were quicker off the block in 1997, never mind 1999. Scotland has waiting times that are infinitely better than in 1999, though there is still further to go."
Even Edinburgh Pentlands MSP and former Scottish Tory leader David McLetchie, who campaigned against devolution, says the parliament "has plus marks".
It is "more accessible and accountable" than Westminster but, he adds: "The jury is still out. Not many people would give it more than six out of ten."
Edinburgh's former Labour council leader Donald Anderson also has reservations about what the decade of devolution has meant for the Capital.
"Undoubtedly the fact we have a parliament in Edinburgh has brought increased status and attention for the city," he says. "The Scottish Parliament has been positive, but we have not seen all the benefits we probably should have because I don't think the relationship between Edinburgh and the Scottish Parliament has been right. There is still a view in the parliament that Edinburgh is a place to take things from rather than to build upon."
He says the "most absurd" example of this attitude was seen in the relocation policy pursued during the first eight years of devolution, when thousands of government and quango jobs were exported to other parts of Scotland.
Mr Anderson says although that policy has been dropped, the attitude persists: "If you look at the way funding is allocated, it has not always helped Edinburgh. There is never a recognition that Edinburgh is an asset for the whole of Scotland. Edinburgh's success has benefited all of the Lothians and as far afield as Falkirk and North Fife, but that has been generated by Edinburgh on its own rather than in partnership with the Scottish Government."
He says the Capital City Supplement – extra government cash for Edinburgh in recognition of its unique role – is a step in the right direction.
Independent Lothians MSP Margo MacDonald agrees with Mr Anderson: "Even in a very recent debate, when I was urging more money for affordable housing in Edinburgh and talked about allocation being based on need, there was nothing but scorn from the Labour benches." But she has detected more readiness by the Scottish Government to help the capital in the last few months: "It's beginning to change."
Ron Hewitt, the chief executive of Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, says devolution brought the city a boost: "The creation of the parliament gave a new sense of optimism, which was reflected in business start-up figures and the number of the fastest growing companies in the city. And despite the present downturn, the effects are still being felt."
