Almost 200 community projects across Scotland are to share £10.8m in funding to help tackle inequality.

The cash will support projects that work to reduce the levels of isolation experienced by older people, provide training and employability advice to adults, and promote healthy eating, volunteering opportunities and activities for young people.

The People and Communities Fund aims to empower communities to deliver long-term solutions that tackle poverty, the Scottish Government said.

In total, 185 projects across Scotland, including Grampian Target Employment, Dundee International Women's Centre and Glasgow Disability Alliance, will benefit from the funding.

Port of Leith Canny Budgeting, which provides advice on energy efficiency, food waste reduction and financial matters to housing tenants in the Edinburgh port, will also receive money.

Welfare minister Margaret Burgess made the announcement on a visit to Rosemount Lifelong Learning in Glasgow, which will receive about £100,000 over the next year.

She said: "This £10.8m investment reinforces our commitment to empowering communities and giving them a stronger voice in the decisions that matter to them.

"The People and Communities Fund recognises that every community in Scotland has different needs and challenges, and it is the people who live and work in those areas that are best-placed to come up with the solutions to address inequalities.

"By funding projects that are changing behaviours through healthy eating and food growing, and investing in schemes like Rosemount Lifelong Learning's that are helping to train and upskill people to find employment, we are empowering communities and giving them the support they need to shape their own futures and tackle the deep-rooted causes of poverty."

Rosemount Lifelong Learning will use the cash to help deliver an eight-week course in IT, food hygiene and first aid, and to offer people advice on tenancies, money management and employability.

Chief executive Alison Mason said: "We are delighted that the People and Communities Fund has allowed us to work with local people, enabling them to develop their employability skills and make positive changes not just to their own lives but to the lives of their families as well."