If the cap fits

In the negotiation-through-newspapers style of this Government, Stephen Timms' team seems to be suggesting, via The Guardian, that top-slicing of the licence fee is fine, as long as there's a cap. I suspect the BBC will seek better protection of their funding stream than that. The history of independent production quotas, starting at 10% and currently at 50% plus or minus, suggests caps move over time, and never downwards.