 The Bill passed the Assembly in February 2011, and received Royal Assent on 16 March; the Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly congratulated him on being the first person to guide a Private Member's Bill onto the statute book in Northern Ireland since 1931.Following the election of Tom Elliott as UUP leader, McCallister was appointed the Party's deputy leader.The following year the UUP Whip Fred Cobain lost his seat in the Assembly and McCallister was chosen to replace him.