To ask Her Majesty's Government how many cases have been heard by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission in each year since it was established; and how many cases are now listed for consideration or pending a final decision. [HL5772]

The number of cases heard and determined since SIAC is shown in the table below.

Records showing in which years the cases prior to 2003 were heard and determined are not readily available following the fire at Field House.

There are 14 pending cases that have yet to be heard and determined for 2009-10.

To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the reply by Lord West of Spithead on 22 October (Official Report, House of Lords, col. 809), what are the net migration figures in 2007 and 2008 that showed a 44 per cent reduction; and how those figures were calculated. [HL5991]

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.

Letter from Jil Matheson, National Statistician, to Lord Roberts of Conwy, dated October 2009.

As National Statistician, I have been asked to respond to your Parliamentary Question concerning the figures that showed a 44 per cent reduction in net migration from 2007 to 2008 and how they are calculated. (HL5991).

The figures relate to the provisional 2008 International Passenger Survey (IPS) data released on 27 August 2009.

The net migration estimate is the difference between the immigration and emigration estimates.

In 2008 net migration was 118,000. This was 92,000 or 44 per cent lower than the 2007 net migration figure of 209,000.

Care should be taken when interpreting changes in net migration since a small change in net migration may mask large changes in immigration and emigration flows. There is also not a unique set of circumstances that result in a particular change to net migration. In this case the reduction is mainly the result of an increase in emigration of over 77,000 with a smaller decrease in immigration of over 14,000.