Jason Bennett has been appointed the first chief executive of the Welsh Social Enterprise Coalition.

Bennett was appointed as chief executive in January and will give up his role as managing director of the Cardiff-based social business Pact-IT come July.

The Welsh Social Enterprise Coalition (WSEC) was set up in February and will receive £700,000 as start-up funding from the Welsh Assembly Government over the next four years.

Bennett said: “It's my firm belief that the Welsh Coalition should be fiercely non-political in its agenda and driven by its members.

“While I'm aware that some people will view such a coalition as an expensive talking shop, this is absolutely not how it should be perceived and I know that WSEC will work hard to see that the coalition will be a truly member-driven organisation.”