Just returned from holiday and received our baby's passport only a few days before we were due to fly - all v stressful - so thought I would share what worked for us in case it's helpful.
- Call the identity and passport service helpline number (the only publicly available number) to find out that your application is at least in the system and find out what stage it's at.
- Tell them when you're travelling
- Tell them again
- Tell them again
- Remember they are only a call centre with no ability to speak to any of the passport offices and it's not the fault of the person on the phone so try not to shout at them!
- Find out where your application has been sent - Durham, Liverpool etc - it won't bear any correlation to where you live - then start googling like crazy to find the number of the passport office. The IPS people can't tell you the number of the passport office, they just say they'll ask for someone to call you.
- Don't believe them when they say they wi call you back (the IPS that is) or that they have asked for your application to be expedited - keep calling them until you find out where your application is and have found the number for that particular passport office
- Phone the passport office. Don't be surprised if you have to stay on hold for an hour; it's worth it
- don't be surprised if when you get through they haven't received a request to expedite or if try have no idea when you're travelling
- tell them again when you're travelling, beg, cry etc
- contact your MP and ask them to intervene - tell them where your application is as this makes it much easier
I'm not sure whether it was my MP's intervention or just my repeated calls to Durham that got ours through the hold up but we got a call 3 days before our flight saying it was in the post and it arrived the next day.
Hope that helps and good luck!