KEZIA Dugdale’s stint in the jungle has raised questions about the responsibilities of regional list MSPs. What exactly will they be getting up to while Dugdale is away? We asked them to share their diaries with National readers. This week, Joan McAlpine, SNP MSP for South of Scotland.

I have been campaigning this week on behalf of the Camphill charity which runs 11 sheltered communities in Scotland where people with learning disabilities work and live beside volunteers from Europe. They are very worried because leaving the European Union may stop future volunteers arriving. I visited Loch Arthur Camphill Community to hear of their fears about leaving the EU and raised their concerns in a parliamentary speech as well as writing to the Home Secretary Amber Rudd.

Today I will visit one of the three local primary schools recently threatened with closure in Dumfries and Galloway council. I campaigned alongside the parents to keep the schools open by submitting detailed objections to the consultation process – and by enlisting the help of the Scottish Rural Schools Network. The council backed down and it will be great to have a celebration with the kids. Rural schools are essential to the sustainability of villages. In the parliament chamber I attended the announcement about minimum alcohol pricing and then a debate on suicide prevention – a new action plan on this sensitive matter will be published in the spring and the government is keen to engage widely on it. I had already written to the mental health minister Maureen Watt on behalf of a constituent who has been affected and I was keen to report back on progress. The debate was oversubscribed but I was able to make a point about the impact of welfare cuts. Other parliamentary debates this week that affect my constituents include one on flood prevention that I am keen to attend.

Parliamentary Questions are a good way to raise constituency matters. Last Thursday I asked Transport Minister Humza Yousaf about which upgrades from the south of Scotland will feature in the government’s list of national strategic projects. I have raised this matter consistently in parliament in order to get upgrades to the A75 and A76 roads, about connecting Dumfries better to the central belt, and improving the train links. I was pleased that the minister agreed to meet me to discuss the matter further. I am aware that there are demands for improvements all over Scotland so it is important to make sure that the south of Scotland’s voice is heard.

I have meetings on Wednesdays with the clerks from the Culture, Tourism, Europe and External Relations Committee, which I convene. The committee itself meets on Thursday morning and this week was pre-budget scrutiny. We will take evidence on the government’s international development programme and also from Historic Environment Scotland. MSPs must spend a lot of time preparing for committee sessions so that they have a solid understanding of the subject in hand. This week we have 60 pages of briefing to read – that is light compared to some!

I have been invited to speak to the Solway Burns Club in Annan for their St Andrew’s dinner. I plan to speak on a parliamentary motion I am working on with the University of Glasgow on the economic potential of Burns. I have already met the university’s Professor Murray Pittock to hear his ideas on how we could do so much more using Burns to build relationships and boost exports. Very little work has been done on the economic impact of Burns, which I hope to kick-start a wider debate on. Being a committee convenor means you are asked to help with other events and as convenor of external relations you meet many international delegations, the Estonian ambassador being the most recent. On Wednesday morning I chaired a “Brexit breakfast briefing” from Professor Anand Menon of King’s College, London.

This week I met the providers of short-term letting accommodation who want to engage with the Culture, Tourism, Europe and External Relations Committee regarding regulation, and with Shelter Scotland and Money Advice Scotland to discuss their campaigns.

I also arranged a lengthy meeting in parliament between constituents and Professor Marc Turner of the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service to discuss infected blood in the 1970s and 1980s. Constituency case work is ongoing – as well as meeting constituents on Monday and Friday I am working on cases – with my staff – as they come in by email and phone. This week, I spent time briefing the young woman from Peebles High School doing work experience, and I wrote a column for my local newspaper about parliamentary activity. This is unpaid.