Here are 10 things that Holyrood has given Scotland

In 1998, the Royal Commission on Long-Term Care recommended the Government should meet the costs of personal care in the UK – arguing those with dementia should be entitled to the same care as cancer patients.

While it was rejected in England and Wales, the newly formed Scottish Parliament took a different path, with free personal care was introduced in 2001 for adults aged 65 or over by the Labour/LibDem coalition, In 2019 legislation was introduced by the Scottish Government to make it available to anyone regardless of age or income, following a campaign which began with a petition to MSPs.

2. Free prescriptions

Scotland abolished prescription charges in 2011, following an example set by Wales and Northern Ireland.

It means England is now the only part of the UK to charge for issuing of medicines and other items, with the current charge at £9.15 per item with certain exemptions.

Prescriptions were initially free for everyone when the NHS was set up in 1948, but charges were introduced in the early 1950s to plug funding gaps.

When they were abolished in Scotland, then Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon described the charges as a “tax on ill health”.

3. Groundbreaking legislation on smoking

The first decade of Holyrood saw Scotland became the first part of the UK to bring in laws banning smoking in enclosed public places.

The legislation, which was brought in by the Labour/LibDem coalition, came into force in March 2006 and was followed by the rest of the UK the next year.

A study suggests the ban had saved Scots from breathing in more than half a tonne of toxic material in the decade since it was introduced.

4. Minimum unit alcohol pricing

In May 2018, Scotland became the first country in the UK – and the world– to introduce minimum unit pricing for alcohol in a bid to curb the nation’s problem drinking.

It is now illegal for alcohol to be sold for less than 50p per unit, which has resulted in the prices of some drinks – such as cheap ciders – rising.

While the impact of the policy is yet to be fully seen, official data has suggested there was a decline of between 4% to 5% in alcohol consumption in the year after it was introduced.

5. Scrapping of tuition fees

The up-front fees for university which had been introduced by Tony Blair’s government in 1998 were ended in Scotland in 2001. The Labour/LibDem coalition at Holyrood introduced a replacement graduate scheme, with fees to be paid back once earnings reached £10,000.

In 2008, this endowment scheme was scrapped by the SNP Government as part of its pledge to return to “free” university education, although those from other UK nations are required to pay if they come to study in Scotland.

UK universities can charge up to a maximum of £9250 per year for an undergraduate degree.

6. Banning fracking

The Scottish Government first announced a moratorium on the controversial practice of fracking in 2015.

The technique, which involves drilling down into the earth before a high-pressure water mixture is directed at rock to extract gas, has prompted environmental concerns.

Last year ministers said the ban would be extended as permission would not be granted for any onshore drilling projects.

There have been calls by environmental groups to introduce legislation instead, which the Scottish Government has said would be considered if needed in the future.

7. Baby boxes

Based on a Finnish model, boxes containing essential items for a baby’s first months have been delivered to new parents in Scotland since 2017 as a way of improving support and health and tackling deprivation.

WATCH: Irish minister praises 'amazing' Scottish baby box scheme

Around 93% of parents take up the offer and earlier this year the Scottish Government announced the scheme would run for another five years.

8. New benefits

The Scotland Act 2016 gave new powers relating to social security to Scottish ministers, including responsibility over certain benefits.

The Scottish Government has pledged it will take a different approach from the UK Government to delivery of disability benefits, including having no face-to-face assessments.

New benefits include the Scottish Child Payment for low-income families with children under six, giving £10 per child per week, which is expected to begin from the end of February 2021.

9. Covid-19 decisions

As public health is devolved, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been in charge of making decisions over Scotland’s approach during the pandemic.

Some decisions have matched steps taken in England – such as the lockdown beginning in March and the current 10pm curfew on bars and restaurants.

However there have been marked differences – Scotland was slower to reopen bars and restaurants and schools north of the Border were the first to go back full-time after the summer.

READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon's approval rating soars in new YouGov survey

Sturgeon has also continued holding daily coronavirus briefings, which were ended routinely by the UK Government in June.

10. It’s led to independence being taken seriously (By Paul Kavanagh aka Wee Ginger Dug)

It’s highly likely that without the Scottish Parliament, we wouldn’t currently be talking about independence at all. There’s always been a body of opinion within Scotland that this country would be better off managing its own affairs, but for most of Scotland’s recent history that has been the opinion of a minority.

That meant that the option of independence could always be successfully marginalised and trivialised by the British nationalist parties which controlled a majority of Scotland’s elected representation.

Without a Scottish Parliament to provide a strong and distinctive voice for Scotland, a voice that can’t be drowned out by the childish catcalls and boos of Conservative MPs in the Commons, independence would probably still be marginalised today. Instead we live in a Scotland where no matter whether you support it or oppose it, you have to take the politics of independence seriously, and you cannot ignore it.

The issue of independence is central to Scottish politics and we are on the cusp of seeing a Scotland where independence is the settled will of the people of Scotland. Without a Scottish Parliament it’s quite possible that would never have happened.

“What the Scottish Parliament has done has been to open Scotland’s eyes to the opportunities afforded by self-government, even the limited form of self-government we have with devolution. It boosted Scottish confidence and helped to banish the notorious cringe to the far corners of British nationalist zoomery on social media.

The successes of the Scottish Parliament have encouraged people to realise that since Scotland can be successful with limited powers, then an even greater potential could be unleashed if Scotland had the powers of an independent state.