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By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Britain's biggest retail bank will set out plans next week to close more than 200 branches under a blueprint that will also see 9,000 jobs disappear.

Sky News understands that Lloyds Banking Group will say that a significant minority of its 2,250 branches across the UK will be shut by the end of 2017, ending a three-year moratorium on such closures.

The focus of the axe will be on urban centres where there are already multiple branches under Lloyds' individual brands operating in close proximity, according to one source.

Lloyds has roughly 1,300 branches under its own name, 670 as Halifax and 290 using the Bank of Scotland brand.

While the issue of bank branch closures is a sensitive one, Lloyds hopes that it will escape widespread criticism because its plans will not, for example, leave rural communities without access to their existing nearest branch.

Lloyds has already offloaded more than 630 branches as part of a state aid settlement with Brussels which resulted in TSB being spun out as an independent high street bank.

Adding a further 200 to that figure would mean that approximately 30% of the group's branches would have been offloaded or closed since the merger of Lloyds TSB and HBOS during the 2008 financial crisis.

Insiders said that Lloyds, which is 25%-owned by taxpayers, would also open some new branches during the next three years, with the exact net closures figure unclear this weekend.

The group would continue to operate the UK's largest branch network even after the plans are implemented, the source added.

People close to the situation pointed out that Lloyds was trying to be transparent by outlining a formal branch closures number, while some rival banks had been closing small numbers of branches on a regular basis but without making public announcements about their actions.

The plans, which will be presented to the City by Antonio Horta-Osorio, Lloyds' chief executive, will demonstrate the bank's vision for automating its customer-facing operations during a period when digital banking is forecast to continue its explosive growth rate.

Sky News revealed during the week that the revised strategy would trigger around 9,000 job losses.

Earlier this year, the British Bankers' Association (BBA) published research showing that UK-based customers conducted almost 40 million mobile and internet banking transactions each week in 2013, a huge increase on the previous year.

The job cuts at Lloyds, which employs roughly 80,000 people, will be on a smaller scale than the cull which has taken place since the merger of Lloyds TSB and HBOS.

Since then, tens of thousands of jobs have been axed at the combined group, and at rivals including Barclays, HSBC and the state-backed Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).

It was unclear on Wednesday how many of the 9,000 roles affected would be in branches and how many in support roles at, for example, call centres.

The strategy update, which will be unveiled alongside results for the third quarter of 2014, is unlikely to include details of a return to the dividend list, with Lloyds expected to have to wait for the outcome of a Bank of England stress test in mid-December.

A spokesman for Lloyds declined to comment.

By Tom Cheshire, Technology Correspondent

A House of Lords committee will hear from drone safety experts on Monday about whether legislation needs updating.

The committee is investigating the civil use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and is expected to report its findings in 2015.

The popularity of drones has surged as the technology has improved, leading to a consumer boom in cheaper, simpler models.

Among the questions the committee will seek answers to are the implications of drones for air traffic control, and whether drones will be affected by current data protection legislation.

Earlier this week, a report led by the former head of GCHQ and conducted by the University of Birmingham's Institute for Conflict, Cooperation and Security said that UAVs pose "significant safety, security and privacy concerns".

It warned they could also be exploited by burglars, train robbers, poachers and the paparazzi.

But the report also said drones could bring "significant benefits". The commercial drone market is estimated to be worth £7.5bn over the next decade.

Jennifer Gibson, a legal expert on UAVs, told Sky News: "Parliament needs to step up. They need to make sure that outdated laws - which historically were used for things like CCTV cameras or manned aircraft - are updated to address this unmanned threat that is coming and can be used by the average person on the street, or by police forces.

"There need to be codes of conduct, we need to have discussions about what privacy means in this new world where you can fly something up to someone's window.

"We need to have decisions around how to protect ourselves from the potential use of this in a threatening way."

This week also saw the first UAV conference held in London.

Plans by David Cameron to get more control over how many EU migrants can enter the UK look set to be blocked by the leader of the German government Angela Merkel.

The German Chancellor said she is against changing one of the fundamental principles on which the European Union is built - freedom of movement.

British Prime Minister Mr Cameron has staked his political future on being able to renegotiate changes that will allow the UK greater control over its borders.

But Mrs Merkel has now signalled she will not support the move, which could make Mr Cameron's aim much more difficult to achieve.

Speaking to the Sunday Times, the German Chancellor said: "Germany will not tamper with the fundamental principles of free movement in the EU."

The British Prime Minister has previously indicated he will make reforms to the principle of freedom of movement for workers within the union a "red line".

He has promised that if he wins the next general election he will force through a number of changes to the way the EU works and then hold a referendum on Britain's membership.

He is thought to be preparing a manifesto pledge to bring in quotas for low-skilled migrants from the EU.

At present, it is a condition of the EU that member states must allow workers from other EU country to live or work there.

Before the last general election Mr Cameron promised to bring net annual immigration down to the "tens of thousands".

He has failed to get anywhere near the target, with many of those arriving annually coming from EU states to find work.

Mr Cameron has had a difficult few days, with European issues high on the agenda as he tries to fight off a UKIP challenge in the Rochester and Strood by-election.

On Friday he attended a Brussels summit only to be told he had to pay an extra £1.7bn into EU coffers.

Mr Cameron said he would not pay the bill by the 1 December deadline and warned that the row risked pushing the UK closer to the leaving.

The European Commission dismissed any objections, saying the figure was calculated by independent statisticians using a standard formula agreed by all member states.

That process depended on the relative economic performance of each state.

Mr Cameron's difficult few days, and those suffered by Labour leader Ed Miliband, appear to be reflected in the latest opinion polls.

A YouGov poll for the Sunday Times finds the Conservatives and Labour neck-and-neck on 33%, UKIP on 16% and the Lib Dems on 7%.

An Opinium survey for the Observer also puts the Tories and Labour on 33%, with UKIP on 18% and the Liberal Democrats on 6%.

By Emma Birchley, East of England Correspondent

A seashore superfood is becoming the must-have ingredient for chefs in restaurants up and down the country.

Man has been eating seaweed for centuries and it has remained hugely popular across parts of Asia.

But despite the UK's abundant coastline, only a tiny fraction of the eight million tonnes harvested worldwide each year is grown or eaten here, even though some species contain more calcium than milk and more iron than beef.

Now businesses like the Cornish Seaweed Company are making the most of what the sea has to offer.

Founder Caro Warwick-Evans said: "There is so much seaweed in this country. We have got a fantastic resource right here and we are just at the beginning of the industry."

She and her partner Tim Van Berkel were granted a licence to harvest seaweed on the west coast of Cornwall by the Crown Estate two years ago.

Now they cut 1,000kg of it a month before washing it, drying it and packaging it ready for sale.

Their seaweed has become a crucial part of the menu at a new contemporary fish and chip restaurant called Hook which has just opened up in Camden, north London.

Chef Simon Whiteside serves it as a side salad, pickle and also as a seaweed salt to season every dish.

He said: "It's such an under-used ingredient so it's really nice to show new ways of using it and seeing how fresh and vibrant it can actually be and not something that's there when the tide goes out."

At Jamie Oliver's Fifteen restaurant in Cornwall head chef Andy Appleton has been experimenting with seaweed for the past year.

One recipe involves cooking the seaweed known as sea spaghetti with pasta and seafood.

"Adding something that we know is natural and gives that extra added flavour is great and it's high in vitamins and iron," he said.

"I think we will see it on more menus as more and more people learn about it and understand it."

At Hook in Camden customers were willing to give it a try.

David Jenkin said the wakame pickle tasted "divine".

"It's chewy, it tastes fresh and tastes like it's good for you," he said.

But Greg Purkis was not so keen.

"It's not doing it for me," he said, "... superfood or no superfood."

A record five million UK workers are now in low-paid jobs, according to a new report.

The Resolution Foundation think-tank said the number of people earning less than £7.69 an hour increased by 250,000 last year to reach 5.2 million.

The increase partly reflected growth in employment, but there was also a reverse in the previous year's slight fall in low-paid work.

Workers in Britain are more likely to be low paid than those in comparable economies such as Germany and Australia, said the Resolution Foundation.

The think-tank's chief economist, Matthew Whittaker, said: "While recent months have brought much welcome news on the number of people moving into employment, the squeeze on real earnings continues. While low pay is likely to be better than no pay at all, it's troubling that the number of low-paid workers across Britain reached a record high last year.

"Being low paid - and getting stuck there for years on end - creates not only immediate financial pressures, but can permanently affect people's career prospects.

"A growing rump of low-paid jobs also presents a financial headache for the Government because it fails to boost the tax take and raises the benefits bill for working people."

He added: "All political parties have expressed an ambition to tackle low pay. Yet the proportion of low-paid workers has barely moved in the last 20 years.

"A focus on raising the minimum wage can certainly help the very lowest paid workers in Britain, but we need a broader low-pay strategy in order to lift larger numbers out of working poverty.

"Economic growth alone won't solve our low-pay problem. We need to look more closely at the kind of jobs being created, the industries that are growing and the ability of people to move from one job or sector to the other, if we're really going to get to grips with low pay in Britain today."

One in five banks in the Eurozone would be unable to survive another major economic crisis, and some institutions could be shut down if their finances do not improve.

A detailed report by the European Central Bank has revealed that 25 banks are in poor financial health - and that 13 of those desperately need to strengthen their buffers against losses.

If the failing banks are unable to raise more cash in the next nine months, they could be forced to shut down.

The financial institutions affected are mainly based in Italy, Greece and Cyprus - and a stress test to ascertain the resilience of British banks is only due to take place in December.

It is hoped that the in-depth review, which covered 130 of the biggest European banks, will help to identify potential vulnerabilities in the banking system, give companies better access to credit, and strengthen the bloc's economy.

The ECB, which is based in Frankfurt, is set to become Europe's central banking supervisor on 4 November. It organised the test so it would become aware of any weaknesses before it gained regulatory powers.

One of the organisation's main tasks is to help small and medium-sized companies across Europe find it easier to get accepted for credit from their bank of choice, enabling them to expand and stay in business.

A lack of available credit has been blamed on the Eurozone's stagnation - with the group of 18 nations using the euro showing no growth whatsoever between April and June.

"This review of the largest banks' positions will boost public confidence in the banking sector," said Vitor Constancio, the vice president of the ECB. "It will help repair balance sheets and make the banks more resilient and robust."

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