PUBLIC SECTOR: Festival Hall shelves plans to find PR head

The Royal Festival Hall and Hayward Gallery has shelved its plans to bring in a head of press and PR to replace Claire Hyde who left in April to join the National History Museum. After a fruitless, six-month search to find a permanent replacement, Karsten Witt, the recently appointed chief executive of the London arts centre has decided to wait until 2001 until a new PR head is appointed. The role has been filled on a part-time consultancy basis since May by Sue Rose, former head of press at the Arts Council, whose contract may now continue beyond its initial deadline of March.