Most Scots do not think devolution has given them a stronger voice, according to a survey published yesterday.

Of those questioned last year, 55% said their influence over government had not changed as a result of the parliament being set up.

The finding came in the Scottish Social Attitudes Survey 2006. It found that 37% of those questioned thought the Scottish Parliament was giving ordinary people more say in how the country was governed, with 5% claiming devolution had given them less.

More than half of those questioned, 53%, also thought the Scottish Executive, as it was then named, was not good at listening to people's views, outweighing the 36% who believed it was.

The annual survey has shown a significant shift in the way people perceive government as influencing how the country is run. There has been a marked increase in the understanding that the national framework for most public services is the responsibility of Holyrood, though levels of understanding are still low. Last year, 24% of people said the Scottish Executive had most influence over how the country was run, up from just 13% in 2000.

Asked who ought to have the major influence in running the country, Holyrood outscored Westminster by 64% to 11%.

Around 1500 people were questioned between August 2006 and January this year. The survey found that improving health and cutting crime remained the top priorities last year, with both cited by 24% of those surveyed.

Asked if the Scottish Parliament is making a difference to education, health and transport, a majority in each case said it is not.

Leaving aside the political blame or credit, those seeing improvements in education, transport, the economy and standard of living last year outnumbered those who thought they were worsening, but the negative view of the NHS was ahead of those thinking it is getting better, by 42% to 20%.

Trust in politicians to look after the interests of Scotland fared better for those based at Holyrood than those in Westminster, the survey found.

Just over half of people questioned, 51%, said they trusted the Scottish Executive "just about always" or "most of the time" to act in the country's interests, compared with 21% who said the same of the UK Government. Asked if they trusted these institutions to act fairly, the advantage to Holyrood was narrower at 31% giving a positive response and 23% for Westminster.